In the Dark
by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
Summary: "Glinda!" Fiyero cried. "You have to help her! She... I mean, I..." He was shaking all over and Glinda swore her heart stopped for a moment when she looked past the prince and saw Elphaba lying on the bed on her back with clear finger marks around her throat. Fiyeraba, post-DG.
1. An Ally

**AN: I know it's been a long time, but here I finally present my new story to you. I hope it was worth the wait :).**

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**1\. An Ally**

"Alright," Nessarose Thropp whispered, unable to believe herself that she was actually saying this. She was the governor of Munchkinland – an unelected official, as she had emphasised before. She could get in major trouble for this.

But how could she refuse? She had been angry with Elphaba for leaving her, back at Shiz; but she had not forgotten everything the green girl had done for her when they had been younger. Her sister had been the only mother Nessarose had ever known. She had bathed her, fed her, held her when she was scared, and read her stories before bed. She had always put Nessa first. Always. And Nessa realised that she could not resent the raven-haired witch for the one time she had put something else – not even herself or another person, but an actual cause; something that could be seen as the greater good – before her little sister.

Nessarose looked down at her feet, which were adorned with her father's most precious gift to her: her beloved jewelled shoes. Her shoes, which had always been a beautiful accessory and were now the very things that granted her deepest wish, namely the ability to walk. She could stand in these shoes. She could walk in them. And that, too, was thanks to her older sister.

Elphaba had apologised for leaving the younger girl and she had tried to make it up to her by enchanting the shoes, enabling Nessa to walk. Now it was time for Nessa to forgive her and to help her in return.

Right now, Elphaba was looking at Nessa with wide and hopeful brown eyes. "Really?"

Nessa nodded and even managed a shaky smile. "Yes." She reached out for Elphaba, who clasped her hand between her own green ones. "You're my sister, Fabala. I love you. After all you have done for me, I think it's only fair of me to do something for you in return. So yes. I will help you."

The green girl embraced her sister tightly. "Thank you, Nessa."

"It's alright." Nessa's smile was more genuine this time. "You can stay here for the time being. It's your house, too, after all. We can discuss the details in the morning – is that alright with you? I am feeling rather tired."

"Of course," said Elphaba. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me, Nessie. For you to help me, to stand by me..."

"I don't know how much of a difference it will make," Nessarose warned. "I am not exactly a beloved governor." She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I was only thinking about making Boq stay... and now he is gone despite all my efforts," she murmured bitterly, "and I have victimised the entire Munchkin population in the process."

Boq had left her a few weeks prior, after declaring that he simply could not take it anymore. He had hurled reproaches at her, yelling at her that she had ruined his life and that she was a wicked witch, and promising her that one day, she would regret it. He had stormed off after that and he had never returned.

His leaving had made her look at her own behaviour in a different way and she had been ashamed to admit to herself that he was right. She had been a horrible governor and perhaps an even more horrible person. With her sister a wanted fugitive and her father gone, she had grown bitter and she had taken it out on her people and her servants. She knew that now. She only wished it were enough to bring Boq back to her.

"Nessie," Elphaba said in that same soft, gentle tone she had always saved only for Nessa, and the young governor suddenly realised how much she had really missed her sister. "Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is that you see what went wrong now and you learn from it."

"Have _you _made mistakes?" Nessa asked in a small voice and her sister snorted a mirthless laugh.

"Have I made mistakes?" she echoed, looking amused, but there was a pain in her eyes that told Nessa the amusement wasn't genuine. "Oh, my pretty, my entire life has been one giant mistake. But that does not mean yours has to be as well." She took Nessa's hand. "Everything will be fine, Nessa, just you wait and see."

"If you say so." Nessarose watched her sister closely for a moment before turning around. "I will be going to bed now. You... you can have your old room," she said quietly. "There are blankets in the wardrobe and the books you left behind are still there."

She couldn't help but smile as Elphaba's face lit up at that. Only Elphaba could be so happy about her books having been preserved. "They're still there?"

"Everything is still there," Nessa said. "Father wanted to clear out your room, but I pleaded with him not to. I was mad at you, but I didn't want to erase all evidence of your existence." She didn't tell Elphaba that in the beginning, she had often gone to her sister's room and buried her face in the sheets as if they still smelt like her, crying over everything that had happened.

Elphaba softened and smiled at the younger girl. "Thank you, Nessie."

"It's alright." She waved her away. "Goodnight, Fabala."

She wheeled herself away. Elphaba stayed where she was for a while, simply drinking in her surroundings and relishing in the fact that at least her sister, the one person she had loved from the very beginning, had forgiven her for everything she had done.

She could hardly begin to comprehend the fact that Nessarose had actually consented to help her; to stand by her and support her cause. For over two years, she had fought by herself. She had tried to help the Animals in any way she could. She had written articles and secretly printed them in the local papers, aided by some undercover Resistance members working at the press; she had listened for any rumours about Animals being trapped and she had flown there to try and free them; and she had visited camps in the woods where fugitive Animals were hiding, helping them to re-build their lives and fend for themselves, and sometimes even spending months on end there to try and teach them how to speak again.

Despite all of that, though, it had always felt like a hopeless fight. She was alone and aside from her unstable and unpredictable magic, she had no power whatsoever. The Wizard and Morrible held the political power over all of Oz, not to mention the power of propaganda. She had never had the illusion that she could beat them on her own.

With Nessa's support, however, things could change. It still was not enough to take up against the Wizard, but at least Nessa, as the governor of one of Oz's major provinces, had a voice. She could try to tell people the truth – if not about Elphaba herself, then at least about the Animals. Maybe with Nessa on her side, she would actually be able to make a difference.

She slowly moved out of Nessa's quarters and peeked out into the hallway, which was completely empty. Clutching the Grimmerie to her chest with one hand and holding her broom with the other, she soundlessly made her way to the other end of the hallway and pushed open the door she found there.

Nessa had been right – her room looked exactly the way she had left it. Her bed was not made, her empty mattress the only thing on it; but everything else was still the same. The window sill where she used to sit and read one of her many books as she gazed out across the back garden of the governor's mansion. The wardrobe in the corner that had always been half-empty because she had never owned many dresses – her father hadn't seen the need to buy her many and she herself hadn't seen the need to own many, either. There was her nightstand right next to the bed, an almost-burnt-up candle still sitting on it. In the other corner was a vanity, which was covered in a thin layer of dust. So was everything else, Elphaba noted. She'd have to take care of that in the morning.

She put her broom away in an empty corner and stuffed the Grimmerie back into her satchel, removing it from her shoulder and hiding it at the bottom of the wardrobe. She then walked over to the bookshelves next to the bed and lightly ran her fingers over the backs of the books still occupying it. There weren't many of them; she had taken most of her books with her to Shiz. She supposed they must have been sent back here, but she had no idea what could have happened to them. She hoped her father had not burnt or sold them. She'd have to ask Nessa in the morning if those books – and her other belongings from Shiz as well – were still being kept somewhere.

She took off her hat and placed it on the vanity. She locked the door and closed the curtains, just to be sure; then she took off the wrap she had been wearing around her shoulders and slowly started unlacing the bodice of her dress. Letting it fall down and pool at her feet, she moved into the bathroom and took her time washing up, thoroughly enjoying getting clean again after going so long without being able to do so. She couldn't even really remember the last time she had taken a proper bath. It had at least been a few weeks ago – probably longer. She always tried to keep herself as clean as possible, but that was hard when one did not have access to any buildings and could not be seen by any people.

When she was finished, she padded back into her bedroom, feeling cleaner than she could remember feeling in a long time. She found a nightgown in the wardrobe and put it on. Then she made the bed and sat down at the vanity, staring at her mirror image for a long while.

The woman staring back at her was someone she did not know. If it weren't for the green skin, she would have doubted this woman was even really her. The last time she had taken the time to really look at her own reflection, she had still been a girl; twenty-two years old, studying at a university, just finding out about friends and love, and so excited about everything that was happening to her.

Now, she could hardly call herself a girl anymore. Her features were sharp and angular, even more so than usual because she had grown to be so skinny due to lack of food. Her once long, shiny, raven hair was shorter now, her having cut it off a couple of months after she had defied the Wizard because it was easier that way. She had regretted it almost instantly and tried to grow it back, but it was still shorter now than it had been back at Shiz, reaching midway down her back instead of all the way to her waist. Her eyes were sunken in and weariness was written all over her face. Through the dust covering the mirror, she looked like a ghost. A spirit come back from the dead to haunt the living.

She brushed her hair, enjoying that feeling as well, without looking at her mirror image again. After that, she put the brush down and crawled into her own bed, marvelling at the feeling of sleeping in an actual bed. It was soft, warm, and more comfortable than anything she had slept on in the last two years; and despite her fear of what was to come and her natural vigilance and wariness, she fell asleep in a matter of mere minutes, overwhelmed by all the new developments this day had brought her.

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**Tell me what you think! This is going to be a pretty dark one again (you know, in case the title did not give that away).**


	2. A Distraction

**AN: Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! Those were nice "welcome back" presents :).**

**I apologise in advance for possibly irregular updates... now that my schedule is non-existent (since uni is all self-study at the moment), I'm having a hard time keeping up with dates and stuff :3. I'll try to update as regularly as possible, though.**

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**2\. A Distraction**

"This is why hereby I, Nessarose Thropp, Governor of Munchkinland," Nessa concluded her speech in a clear, loud voice, "give the Munchkins back all the rights I have taken from them and more. I want to offer you all my most sincere apologies and I want to promise you that I will be a better ruler from now on than I have been before."

The Munchkins looked at one another, clearly unsure of what to think. Then a few hesitantly started applauding and before long, they were all doing so. Nessa knew it would be a while before they would fully trust her – if they ever would at all – but she didn't have the time to wait for that. She had to make her other announcement right away.

She and Elphaba had agreed that Elphaba would not be mentioned at all, lest the Munchkins turn against Nessa completely and ruin everything. The green girl had decided to stay out of the picture completely. Instead, Nessa now simply told the Munchkins that the province of Munchkinland wanted to acknowledge the rights of Animals as well as humans.

"Many things have happened in Oz," she said, looking at her people, "and the Animals have been blamed for those things. I ask you now: was that fair?" She paused dramatically before going on. "It wasn't. And I will not allow it to go on in my province – not for as long as I am still the governor. From now on, I give not only the human Munchkins, but also all Animals living in Munchkinland back the rights they had before the existence of the Animal Banns. I support the Animals and am offering food and shelter to those who need it. From now on, Munchkinland will be a safe place for everyone, people of all backgrounds and races, to live together in peace and harmony!"

That earned her an even bigger applause and she smiled, mentally thanking Elphaba for writing this speech for her. The sisters had known that the Munchkins' support would depend on the way Nessa delivered the news; if she'd told them about the Wicked Witch of the West staying in her house, or if she had simply declared that Munchkinland would be supporting Animals against the Wizard's will, riots would have broken out for sure. This way, no accusations were made and the news was twisted in a way that made it sound positive and revolutionary, which, apparently, the Munchkins could appreciate – despite their conservative nature.

Nessarose answered some questions and then went back inside, tired. She was happy to rise from her chair and stretch her legs. She hadn't wanted to shock the Munchkins by showing them that she could walk now; they'd ask questions she could not give them the answers to yet, and things were already complicated enough as they were.

"Elphaba?" she called, moving through the house. She found the green girl in the kitchen, cradling a cup of tea and looking lost in thought.

"Elphaba?" she asked again and the young witch shook her head, then gave her sister a small smile.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"As usual," Nessa said teasingly and for a moment, both their minds flashed back to easier times, long ago.

"How did it go?" asked Elphaba and her sister smiled.

"I think it went well," she said. "Thanks for helping me, Fabala."

"I think I should be the one saying that," the dark-haired witch said with a smile, reaching out to her sister. Nessa took her hand and squeezed it.

She shook her head. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that... that it might not be safe for you to stay here," she said, taking a seat across from Elphaba. "You could be seen, and if that happens..."

"...everything will be ruined," Elphaba finished. "I know. I was planning on leaving soon, anyway. I never intended to stay here and endanger you – I have long overstayed my welcome."

"You've only been here a little over a week," Nessa protested. "And you're always welcome here, Fabala. I want you to know that. You can stay for as long as you want, whenever you want."

"Thank you, Nessie," said Elphaba softly. "But I have already hurt enough people. I won't put you in any more danger than you are already in. I wouldn't have even come here if I hadn't been so desperate for help."

Nessa frowned in concern. "Where will you go now, Fabala?"

"No need for you to break your pretty head over that, Nessie. The fewer people know, the better." The green girl patted her sister's hand. "I'm going to try to make some more arrangements from here, but I'll be leaving in a few days."

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Glinda's attention was drawn by the word "distraction".

She hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation between the Wizard and Madame Morrible. They were discussing something at the far end of the table, but Glinda was more concerned with the magazine lying open in front of her. How was she ever expected to pick one single wedding dress? They all looked gorgeous!

She wished her best friend was here... not that she would have been much help. The blonde smiled at the memory of her unflappable green roommate. If she were to ask Elphaba advice about picking a wedding gown, she was sure her friend would just wave one skinny hand in the air and tell her to "just pick something", because "you look gorgeous in everything". Which, Glinda thought, was very sweet, but not very helpful.

She sighed and closed the magazine; and that was when she heard that word.

"Distraction?" she asked, leaning forward. "What kind of distraction?"

The Wizard and Morrible looked up, mildly disturbed. Glinda suspected they had both forgotten she was even there.

"Oh, nothing, dearie," Morrible said, while the Wizard said at the same time, "Something to distract us from what's happening in Munchkinland."

"What _is _happening in Munchkinland?" Glinda inquired, but Morrible answered before the Wizard could even open his mouth.

"Nothing much, Glinda dear," she said. "Just some political stuff."

Glinda immediately lost interest.

"The point is, though," Morrible continued, "that news about these things is spreading and it could cause discord among the people. We need something, preferably something positive, to distract the Ozians from what is going on in the east."

Glinda's eyes were already shining, an idea immediately having sprung to mind. "Something positive?" she asked. "Like... something that would be cause for celebration?"

"Exactly!" the Wizard said, heaving a sigh. "We just have no idea _what_!"

"I do." Glinda squealed and clapped her hands in enthusiasm. "I have just the thing!"

And that was why only a few days later, a banner suddenly came falling down and all the Ozians cheered, "Congratulotions!"

Fiyero gaped at them and then at his blonde girlfriend... or fiancée, apparently. "This is an engagement party?!"

"Surprised?" she asked with a giggle. She was rather proud of herself for this. Not only was she providing the distraction the Wizard had wanted, but she was also finally moving her and Fiyero's relationship forward – since he didn't seem to be inclined to do so himself.

"Um... yeah," he replied, dumbstruck. Glinda giggled again when she saw that. He was so happy that he didn't even know what to say! That was so sweet!

"Good," she said, linking her arm with his. "We were hoping you would be – the Wizard and I."

For a moment, she felt guilty. She knew that this was not really her place. It was not she who should be standing here, talking to the people, working with the Wizard... it should have been someone else. Someone smarter, better, and more powerful than Glinda was.

But Elphaba had made her choice and Glinda had, too. Their choices had led them in different directions. Sometimes, just for a heartbeat, she regretted not going with Elphaba; sometimes she envied her friend for being free, and for being strong enough to resist the call of popularity and fame and to follow her heart. Glinda had never followed her heart. She hadn't had the courage.

She shook those thoughts off, however. How could she dwell on them? She was here, adored by all of Oz, and the people were celebrating her and Fiyero's engagement!

They sang and danced, and food and drinks were being distributed by some of the Palace servants. Everyone congratulated her and Fiyero and she took all the compliments in her stride, beaming and thanking the people, and constantly gushing on about her incredible fiancé. No, Glinda's day could not possibly be better. If only she knew then that her perfect life was about to fall apart that very same night.

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**Does that count as a cliffy?**


	3. A Mess

**3\. A Mess**

It wasn't until at least a few hours into the celebration that Glinda noticed that Fiyero did not look half as happy as she had expected him to. Once she started paying attention to that, it only took her a few more minutes to realise that her fiancé was not just distracted or elsewhere with his thoughts, as he sometimes tended to be. There was something else going on.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked him incredulously later that night, when the two of them had retreated to their chambers inside of the Emerald Palace and they were finally alone.

Fiyero looked at her, taking her in without saying anything. She indignantly frowned and placed one hand on her hip. "Fiyero?"

"No," he said. "I'm not angry." He turned around and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. She could hear the sound of running water.

She pounded on the door. "Then why aren't you _happy_?!"

The sound stopped and she almost fell backwards when the door suddenly opened again and Fiyero came back out, looking frustrated. He sighed and moved over to the window, staring out of it for a while without saying anything. Then he turned back around to face her.

"Glin," he said, "I'm not mad at you. I'm not. But this engagement..."

Her heart sank. This was what she had been afraid of all along. "You don't want to marry me."

"Well, for one, I think it's a little presumptuous to go around throwing us an engagement party without us ever having even discussed the idea of getting married," he snapped, clearly frustrated. "We never even talked about it, Glinda. And then suddenly you go and do this? Do you have any idea how uncomfortable I felt, finding out that we were engaged with all those people around us already celebrating?"

She blushed a little. "I'm sorry, dearest." She moved over to him and slipped her arms around his waist. "I should have realised. I know it was a bit unexpected, but... can't you just be happy?"

He sighed again and looked down at her.

"I'm sorry, Glin," he said softly and she let go of him, her arms slowly falling down to hang limply beside her before she raised them again to hug herself. "I never wanted to hurt you, but I was never planning on this being a long-term thing, either."

She stepped back as if he had slapped her. "I thought I had changed you."

He lowered his gaze.

"You _have _changed," she said, her voice high and thin. She knew she was on the verge of tears, but she didn't want to cry in front of him. Not this time. "You have. I thought that was because of me."

"It wasn't," he said, closing his eyes for a moment. It clearly pained him to say this, but she didn't care. What in Oz was he saying?

"I'm so sorry, Glinda," he said, taking a deep breath. "But you know how I was at first. How could you even think this would last?"

"Don't pin this on me," she hissed, pointing a finger at him accusatorily. "I knew you moved from girl to girl back then, but you changed, Fiyero. Everyone with eyes could see that. And I could see us having a future together. I could see us getting married, starting a family –"

"You saw those things from the beginning!" he exclaimed, starting to pace up and down the room. "Glinda, you would have been willing to marry me from the moment I spun you around on that dance floor in the _OzDust Ballroom_!"

She flushed and looked down in embarrassment, recalling the "secret" she had told Elphaba that exact same night. He was right, but he didn't have to know that.

"I was never so sure." He shook his head. "I wasn't sure of anything. And I did change, you're right about that; but I'm not ready for this kind of commitment with you. All my life, I've just gone with the flow and now the flow was..."

"Me," she whispered and he nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I'm sorry, Glin. This was just... easy. But I've been thinking a lot lately and I have realised that this is not what I want. That surprise engagement was the final straw for me. I can't stand here and pretend any longer. You're an amazing person and a wonderful friend, but I'm not in love with you."

By the time those words finally left his mouth, it was much less of a shock than Glinda had expected it to be. It had been coming for the entirety of this conversation. Looking back now, she realised she could have seen it coming much earlier – he had been distant and moodified for a while now, like he had been back at Shiz.

Glinda nodded silently and turned around to wipe her tears away without him noticing. Rage bubbled up inside of her. Who did he think he was, leading her on for nearly three years, never telling her that this meant so much less to him than it did to her?

"You incredible jerk," she said in a low voice, spinning back around to face him.

He hung his head, not protesting.

"Get out," she spat, pointing at the door. "Get out of here before I push you off that balcony. I can't even stand to look at your face a moment longer."

He left without another word. Glinda locked the door behind him and rested her forehead against it, taking deep breaths. It didn't help; she felt like she couldn't breathe.

She threw herself onto her bed and sobbed her heart out for the next twenty minutes. Then she dried her eyes and stepped out onto the balcony, closing her eyes and feeling the light spring breeze wafting across her skin, calming her down a little. She opened her eyes again and took in the view. The Emerald City was so bright green it hurt her eyes; but beyond that were meadows and cornfields, forests, and roads leading Oz-knew-where. And even farther away, beyond all of that, there was the western sky.

Before she knew it, tears were leaking down her face once more. She'd had everything. Parents who loved her to death and spoilt her rotten, peers who followed her every move and did everything she told them to, boys who wanted to take her out and friends who cheered her up when she was sad. She'd had Fiyero, the perfect boyfriend; and Elphaba, the non-traditional, but equally perfect best friend.

What did she have left now? Her parents were all the way in Gillikin. She didn't even know if Elphaba was still alive. Fiyero had left her. All she had now was the adoration of a bunch of empty-headed Ozians who believed everything other people told them. Meaningless, empty love that was not even really love at all.

Without Fiyero, she had no-one left.

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Elphaba took great care not to be seen, approaching the Emerald Palace in the dead of night, when everyone was asleep. She hovered outside the Throne Room window for a while, listening for any sound from inside, before she silently flew in and landed without making a sound. The room was completely empty and she turned around, placing her broom in a corner and moving to investigate the structure of the Wizard's mechanical head. She searched for a button or lever that would release the Monkeys he kept trapped behind his throne.

It took her a while to find it, but once she did, she pulled the lever and the cage opened. A wide smile slowly spread across her face when she saw the Monkeys flying out of their cage, some of them circling the room before flying out of the window.

"Fly!" she called softly to them. "You're free now! Get out of here!" She kept encouraging them until the final one had disappeared out of the window.

She knew she shouldn't be here. If Nessa knew what she'd been up to, she'd have tried to stop her for sure. But these Monkeys were her responsibility. She had made them what they were now and the least she could do was release them from their shiny, emerald green prison and set them all free, even if that meant putting herself at risk.

She turned around to find her broom and leave, but the sight before her made her stop dead in her tracks.

Morrible. Surrounded by six Gale Force soldiers.

"Well, hello there, dearie," the woman smirked. "It's such a coincidence to find you here."

Elphaba gritted her teeth.

"No, I'm serious," Morrible said with a chuckle. "I'm not even usually up at this time of the night, but His Ozness and I had some pressing matters to attend to tonight and so we were up late. It was purely coincidental I had to come back here to put back some papers... and when I heard the Monkeys making all that noise, I gathered up some guards in the hallway. It's a good thing, though. You coming here spares me the bother of having to find you." She smirked at Elphaba and then made a gesture, addressing the Gale Force soldiers. "Seize her."

Before Elphaba could move, the guards were on her, grabbing her arms and pulling them behind her back. She fought like a wild cat, scratching, kicking, and hitting them, yelling for them to let her go. When one of them tried to cover her mouth with his hand, she bit him so hard he yelped, yanking his hand back as blood dripped down it.

"Give up, witch," one of them groaned. "You're not going to win this. You're outnumbered."

Elphaba snarled at him and threw herself back against the ones holding her from behind, using her momentum to kick the one in front of her in the gut. He doubled over and she spun, punching one in the face before grabbing her broom and smacking another guard in the head with it. She swung the broom again, throwing one guard's legs out from underneath him. With all of them temporarily stunned, she spun and mounted her broom; but before she could kick off, she was gripped by a beam of magic seemingly coming out of nowhere. She stiffened, panic coursing through her when she suddenly found herself unable to move.

"Not so fast, dearie," Morrible said darkly.

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**How's that for a cliffy, then? *cackles***


	4. A Heartache

**AN: Apparently, we're back to ruining my review page (I am not at ALL looking at you, Fiyeraba's Love Child :P).**

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**4\. A Heartache**

When Glinda entered the breakfast room, it was to find Fiyero sitting on the other end of the table. She faltered in the doorway for a moment before raising her chin and striding forward, taking a seat herself and asking the maid that came to serve her for some fruit and scrambled eggs.

"Glinda?" Fiyero asked softly.

She nodded coldly at him. "Fiyero."

He sighed. "Glinda... I'm sorry. I never meant to –"

"Shush. I don't want to talk to you." She sipped the orange juice that had been placed before her as she waited. The maid returned soon with a small bowl of fresh fruit and a cup of tea, promising that the scrambled eggs were on their way; and Glinda ate with small, delicate bites in complete silence, never speaking a word to Fiyero or even glancing in his direction.

Her eggs were brought in and she ate those, too, then emptied her glass of orange juice as well as her cup of tea and nodded that the maid could take everything away. Only then did she look up at Fiyero.

"Glin," he tried again, but she interrupted him.

"I know there is someone else. Who is she?"

He blanched and opened and closed his mouth a few times, which made him look a little like a fish. She would have laughed if she weren't feeling so murderous.

Glinda slammed her fist on the table suddenly, making him jump. "Who _is _she, Fiyero? Who is this girl you've been in love with for..." She trailed off. "How long have you been in love with her, anyway?"

He didn't reply, instead looking down at his plate.

"You said you're not in love with me." Glinda took a few deep breaths in an attempt to keep herself calm and reasonable, but she still felt like screaming and hurling plates at him. "You never really have been, have you? But there is someone else. I know it. I can _feel _it. Only love can change a person the way you have been changed and if it wasn't love for me, it must have been love for someone else. Have you been in love with this other girl since the beginning?"

"Not..." He swallowed. "Not really since the beginning."

With those words, he implicitly confirmed her suspicion that there was, indeed, someone else. She'd known – she'd been absolutely certain – but it still hurt to hear him say it.

"But for a long time?" she prodded.

He nodded, not looking at her. His shoulders slumped. "Yes."

Glinda bit her lip. "Who is she?"

He shook his head, clearly not wanting to tell her, but she snarled at him. "Who is she, Fiyero? I have a right to know! You've basically been cheating on me for three years!"

"I didn't cheat on you!" he protested. "Nothing ever happened! She doesn't even know – I never let her know, and we never did anything, so I didn't cheat on you!"

"You did emotionally!"

He had no reply to that.

"Tell me, Fiyero!"

"I..." He sighed. "I don't suppose it really matters, anyway," he said. "Just... promise me you won't look at her any differently because of it. She doesn't know. She never knew, I didn't say anything... she could probably never return my feelings, anyway."

"Wait." Glinda had blanched a little. "I know her?" She hadn't even considered that. She thought this girl must have been someone he met in the City or someone he knew from back home in the Vinkus. She hadn't really considered the possibility that she could know this person, too. Her mind instantly flashed back as she tried to remember every girl she and Fiyero both knew well, but there weren't all that many. Neither of them had really made any friends since...

"Shiz," she whispered. "Neither of us made any friends since Shiz. So unless you already knew her before that... but you didn't have contact with anyone from the Vinkus once you came to Shiz except for your parents." Her head jerked up, only to see Fiyero cringing slightly, a clear indication that she was right.

"A girl from _Shiz_?!" It made sense, in a way. He had started to change his ways when they had been at Shiz, after all.

He muttered something and she gritted her teeth, annoyed with him for not speaking up. "What?"

He lowered his gaze and said, a little louder, "It's Elphaba."

Glinda stared at him for a long time. She suddenly wished she hadn't drunk all of her juice, because if she had still had some left, she would have thrown it into his face right about now.

"All these years," she breathed, "you've been in love with my best friend?!"

He nodded. "But she doesn't know, Glinda," he tried. "She's your best friend – she always has been. Don't let me ruin that."

She snorted. "Don't be so self-conceived, Fiyero. You don't have the power to ruin a friendship for me, especially not one as special as mine and Elphie's – not even by telling me you are in love with her. What Elphie and I had... have," she corrected herself, "has nothing to do with you. I hate you for falling in love with my best friend, but it does not change the way I feel about Elphaba." _Unless she loves him back_. The thought crossed her mind for a brief moment, but she pushed it away. She would never hate Elphaba. Not even if she did love Fiyero back.

Had Glinda herself ever truly loved Fiyero? She thought she had. Not in the beginning, when her feelings for him had been a mere schoolgirl crush. Not near the end, when he had been acting strangely and she had begun to realise that her life was not by far the fairy-tale she had always imagined it to be. But somewhere in between those two periods, she had loved him.

When she looked at him now, however, she saw only betrayal. She wanted to rise above this the way her parents had taught her and forgive him for doing this to her, but she couldn't.

"I am sorry, Glinda," he said.

She looked at him for a long time. Then she asked, "What are you going to do now?"

He took a breath. "Have you read the newspaper yet?"

She shook her head and he pushed the paper towards her across the table. She picked it up and her attention was immediately drawn by the headline.

_GOVERNOR THROPP OF MUNCHKINLAND SUPPORTS ANIMALS._

She quickly skimmed over the article, knowing immediately what Fiyero must have thought when he read this. "That's her."

Fiyero nodded.

"It's her influence. It has to be. Nessa would never do this by herself." Glinda looked up at her former fiancé in excitement, despite everything. "She's alive!" She had never been certain of that fact for two years, ever since Elphaba left. She'd heard things occasionally, of course, but she had never known for sure.

Then her brow furrowed. Was this the news from Munchkinland that the Wizard had wanted her to distract the people from? It would make sense. A major province leader declaring to support the Animals was not something the Wizard and Morrible would want to be public knowledge; but the fact that it was on the front page of the Ozian newspaper now meant that their distraction had failed.

She could see the irony of that. She'd thrown the surprise engagement party in order to distract the people from something she hadn't even known about, and it had resulted in not only the distraction attempt failing, but also in her losing the man who had almost been her fiancé.

She glanced at Fiyero. "What does this have to do with your next move?"

He just looked at her a little guiltily and she gazed back down at the paper, only to realise what this meant. Her heart sank.

"This means she's in Munchkinland," she said quietly.

He nodded.

"And you're going to find her." It was not a question, but she received another nod in reply nonetheless.

Glinda let out a mirthless laugh. "I don't believe this. You've been searching for her so frantically ever since you joined the Gale Force, I was almost starting to think you had forgotten the way she was at Shiz... that you had started to believe the rumours. You were so driven, so..." She trailed off as realisation suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Oh my Oz," she whispered. "You joined the Gale Force to find her."

He winced.

"What if you had found her before?" Glinda asked, more talking to herself than to him. "What if you'd have found her a year ago? Would you have gone with her? Declared your love to her and followed her around like a helpless, lovesick puppy? Would you have abandoned me _just like that_?!"

Fiyero finally had enough guts to look her in the eye. "I love her, Glinda."

She nodded calmly. "Yes. So you do." She rose to her feet and walked around the table. "This would have been beautiful and quite touching, had I not been so ready to rip your head off right now."

He hung his head again. "I know."

"Fiyero."

He looked up.

She punched him straight in the face. He heard a _crack_ and his hands flew up to his nose, blood streaming from between his fingers. He quickly grabbed a napkin from the table and pressed it against his nose to try and stop the bleeding.

"Just for the record," Glinda hissed at him, "that does not even nearly make us even. Understood?" Without waiting for an answer, she stomped from the room.


	5. A Search

**AN: I'm sorry (okay, no, not really), but the cliffy will be stretched for another chapter :3. Next chapter is all Elphaba, promise!**

**Fiyeraba's Love Child: It's not that you wrote many reviews; but when you write one really long word (like an endless "AWW" or a really long "FIYEROOO"), it stretches your review page to the side, so that you have to scroll to the right and then to the left all the time to read reviews :3. (And no, sorry... your ending is too happy :P.)**

* * *

**5\. A Search**

Glinda thought about it a lot and eventually decided that perhaps she could forgive Fiyero – if he stayed out of her sight for at least a few weeks, so that she could try and process everything he had confessed to her. She was furious with him, but sad at the same time. She knew she couldn't blame him for loving Elphaba, even though she did – a little. She was mostly upset about him not saying anything and pretending to be in love with her, Glinda, for almost three years. She was mad that he had deceived her.

She felt a little bad about bruising his nose, although she probably would have felt worse if it was actually broken, which the physician had assured her it was not. He had deserved it, though.

She wondered if Elphaba loved him back. She thought about that day at the train station, when the green girl had casually asked if Fiyero would be coming to see her off and then quickly added that they barely even knew one another. She thought of Elphaba's slightly strange behaviour after Doctor Dillamond being taken away, which Glinda had attributed to exactly that event... but perhaps it had been something else. That had been the same time Fiyero had started acting weirdly, after all.

She thought of Elphaba and Fiyero together and the thought made her feel... strange. Sad. She wanted to be happy for her friend if she was really in love with Fiyero – if she would maybe finally get to experience love... but she couldn't. Not now, anyway. She could only think of the way Fiyero had betrayed and hurt her, and how he was supposed to be with _her_, Glinda... not with her best friend.

She eventually left her rooms in search of him. It wasn't because she wanted to talk to him or see how his nose was doing; it was merely to prove to herself what she had suspected all along, namely that he really did love Elphaba and that, although he cared for Glinda, it was not enough to keep him here when his heart was in Munchkinland. She wandered the palace, she looked for him, and she asked the servants if they had seen him. No-one had.

It did not surprise her in the least that Fiyero was nowhere to be found, because she knew exactly where he was: on his way to Munchkinland. To Elphaba.

She spent the rest of the day locked up in her room with a huge bowl of ice cream, trying to come to terms with everything and trying to accept that the man she had thought she loved was now no longer hers.

* * *

It took Fiyero a couple of days to reach Munchkinland. He left the city on the afternoon after his final talk to Glinda and he kept on riding until nightfall. Only then did he stop, spending the night in a hotel before continuing.

He felt guilty for leaving Glinda the way he had, but he felt like he'd had no other choice. He didn't want to be her fiancé. Maybe if she hadn't suddenly announced their engagement, he would have stayed with her for another while, not being happy, and yet not doing anything about it. In that respect, he was grateful for the wake-up call. It felt the same way it had when Elphaba had called him out on being unhappy in that clearing with the Lion cub – like something stirred inside of him, spurring him on to take matters into his own hands and make a change.

And so here he was, on his way to Munchkinland.

When he arrived after a three days' journey, he knew exactly where he had to go. He'd never been to the governor's mansion before, but some Munchkins gave him directions and soon he found himself looking up at the high, iron gates, spurring on his horse to ride through them and approach the house.

It took him some time to convince the servant who opened the door to let him see the governor, but eventually he was allowed inside. The servant led him to a formal sitting room and told him to wait there for Her Eminence to arrive.

She did, a few minutes later. She was dressed in wine-red velvet, with her hair pinned back in a loose bun, emphasising her prominent cheekbones. Somehow she reminded him of her sister and just for a moment, it was not Nessarose he saw sitting there, but Elphaba, her hair in a braid as usual and her glasses perched on her nose. The mental image made his heart ache. He just hoped she was alright.

"Fiyero," Nessa said in surprise, looking him up and down. She held out her arms and he leant down to embrace her briefly, kissing her cheek. "It's so good to see you. You look well," she observed and he arched one eyebrow sceptically.

She giggled, a sound that reminded him of their times at Shiz. "Oh, I'm sorry, Fiyero, but I didn't want to be impolite and point out the fact that you have a bruised nose within a minute of first seeing you again after a long time. How are you?"

"As you could probably tell by the bruised nose," he said drily, "Glinda and I broke up. Or, well, I broke up with her."

"Oh, Fiyero..." Nessa shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. You two were so great together. What happened?"

He shrugged. "I guess I just... realised I didn't love Glinda," he said. "I think I knew that on some level, but then she went and threw this surprise engagement party..."

"I read something about that in the paper, yes," said Nessa with a grimace.

Fiyero made a face. "Yeah. That did it for me," he said. "I never fully saw how serious Glinda was about all this... about us... but once I did, I couldn't lead her on any longer, so I broke up with her. As you can see, she didn't take it too well." He shifted and looked at the girl across from him. "How have you been doing?"

"Fine," she said. "Better lately. Boq left me." She looked sad for a moment, then shook her head. "I deserved that, though," she said softly, "and I have changed my ways by now."

"I heard," Fiyero said, shifting again to sit on the edge of his seat. He decided to bring it all out in the open now. "That's actually why I came here."

Nessarose looked at him inquiringly. "Because I changed my ways?"

"Because you started supporting Animals," Fiyero corrected her. He could see the flash of surprise and fear in her eyes for a moment before she hid it again.

"Nessa," Fiyero said pleadingly. "I left the Emerald City because I'm not in love with Glinda, but I'm in love with someone else."

Nessarose probably knew what he was saying, but to her credit, she kept her expression neutral and didn't give anything away. If Fiyero hadn't been so sure that Elphaba must be behind her sister's sudden change of heart, Nessa might actually have been able to convince him that she didn't know anything.

"I'm in love with your sister," Fiyero continued, "and I know she's been here."

"What makes you think that?" Nessa asked carefully.

"You're supporting _Animals_, Nessa," the prince stressed. "Not many people would make the connection, I'll grant you that, but you forget that I knew both of you back at Shiz already. So did Glinda. She instantly saw it, too. I know this must be Elphaba's doing. Nessa, please." He met her gaze. "I know you're trying to protect her, but you don't have to protect her from me. I would never hurt her."

Nessa raised one eyebrow, reminding him once again so much of her sister that it almost hurt him. For over two years, he had searched for her endlessly, hating himself for letting her go and for many other reasons. He hated the fact that he had to join the people who most badly wanted to kill her in order to find and protect her. He hated himself for leading Glinda on as long as he had, for choosing the coward's way out and not telling her earlier how he felt – about her, about their entire relationship, about her best friend.

He was so close now. So close. He had hurt Glinda because of it and he hated that, too, but he knew it would be worth it, if only it would take him to Elphaba. He'd do anything for that to happen. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was desperate. It scared him, the intensity of his feelings for her; and yet at the same time, it felt so natural. So _right_.

"Please," he added, watching Nessa's face intently. He already knew that he would make her tell him, no matter what. He didn't want to have to resort to threats – he already loathed himself for it – but he knew he would if it came down to it. He loved Elphaba too much to let her slip through his fingers once more and desperate times sometimes called for desperate measures. He would find her and he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, if it was the last thing he'd ever do.


	6. A Darkness

**AN: Yeah, yeah, here you go! (And I honestly didn't drag it out that long on purpose... I've been switching around several parts of the story and this was just the way the timeline seemed to fit better :P.)**

* * *

**6\. A Darkness**

Elphaba lost all track of time down in the cold, damp, and pitch-black dungeons of Southstairs. The only light came from a few torches on the walls, but they barely allowed her enough light to make out her surroundings and there was no daylight to determine the time by. She didn't even know if it was day or night; if she'd been here for days already or merely a few hours.

She'd tried to fight, but Morrible's spell had kept her in a death-grip until she had been safely locked away down here, in a cell in an isolated part of Southstairs so that she would not be able to "influence" the other prisoners in any way. She hadn't seen anyone since, aside from the guard who brought her bread and water every now and then without so much as speaking a single word. She was sure Morrible would call for her sooner or later – once she was disoriented by the dark, maybe, or once she was weakened by the cold and lack of food. She was not looking forward to that moment.

When a different guard came and told her Madame Morrible was requesting her presence in the interrogation room, she rose and came with him without protest, walking in front of him as he led her over to where Morrible was waiting for her. The older woman was already there and she dismissed the guard, looking her prisoner up and down with gleaming eyes. There were two other people in the room, two men who were probably supposed to assist Morrible in her interrogation of the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Well, well, well, Miss Elphaba," she said slowly, stretching out each word. "Here we finally are."

Elphaba lifted her chin and met Morrible's gaze with unyielding determination and no fear – on the outside, anyway. Much to her satisfaction, she saw Morrible falter for just a moment before she composed herself.

"I haven't made the public announcement yet." Morrible started walking up and down the room, her hands behind her back. "The only reason for that is that His Ozness wants to offer you a way out of this. Needless to say I do not in the least agree with him, but he insisted and we all must do what the Wonderful Wizard wants, mustn't we?" She chortled and turned to face Elphaba again. "So the Wizard wants to ask you if you would be willing to join him," she said mockingly. "He'll clear your name and make you as wonderful as he himself is – or almost, anyway. He'll give you countless opportunities you wouldn't get otherwise, he'll give you fame and power, he'll give you your best friend back, and he'll make sure your days on the run are over."

Despite herself and her resolve to not fall for any of the Wizard's tricks, Elphaba felt a thrill of excitement going through her. No more running. No more hate and fear everywhere she went. She'd be free, she'd be accepted... loved, even. She'd be able to do good and she'd get Glinda back.

She thought of Nessarose, who wouldn't be in danger anymore. Of Glinda, who wouldn't be sad anymore. Of Fiyero...

But then she thought of the Animals and she knew she could never accept this offer unless he would promise her to turn around the Animal Bans. If he did, she might consider it; but otherwise she would have to decline.

Morrible laughed. "Don't look so hopeful, dearie. We both know you will never accept the injustice being done in Oz and _he _will never turn around his entire policy for one single bull-headed girl. If you're joining us, you're going to have to play nice and pretend not to see what's happening to the Animals and you know as well as I do that you would never do that. So I think I will be right in saying that His Ozness' offer has been declined, no?"

Elphaba bit her lip, but she nodded. "As long as he does not change what he is doing to the Animals," she said, quietly but firmly, "I will never join him."

Morrible smirked. "That's what I thought. I will send word back to him." She walked over to one of the chairs in the room and gestured for Elphaba to sit as well, but the young witch declined with a shake of her head.

"Very well." Morrible glanced up at the green girl and then nodded at the two inquisitors, who came forward.

One of them cleared his throat. "You are accused of terrorising the citizens of Oz and conspiring with the Animals against the government, Miss Elphaba," he said. "Do you deny the truth of these accusations?"

"If by 'terrorising' you mean flying around and scaring them a little with my cackling, then yes," said Elphaba. "If you mean anything else than that, then no."

"And the conspiracy?"

"There is no conspiracy. The Animals are simply trying to survive and I am trying to help them."

"So treason, then," Morrible concluded smugly from her seat against the wall. Elphaba said nothing and the two men scribbled something down on their papers.

"You are accused of theft," said one of the two men, "and of murder."

"I stole food," Elphaba admitted instantly. "A couple of times. But I did not ever murder anyone."

"Did you magic-spell the farmers' crops so that their harvest would be ruined?" the man asked and Elphaba shook her head.

"No," she said. "The magic I know is actually very limited. I have magic inside of me, but I hardly have any control over it."

The two men muttered to one another and Morrible sighed.

"Why are you helping the Animals?" the other inquisitor asked. "You must know they have been banned from society in almost all of Oz by now."

"And why is that?" Elphaba asked in reply. "What did they ever do wrong? The Wizard came here and he needed a scapegoat, someone to blame for the bad things happening in Oz, and he chose the Animals. That is the only reason why they are being treated as criminals now, and it is not fair. I'm trying to help them and in return, I am declared a wicked witch. Does that sound fair to you, gentlemen? Does that seem like _justice_?" she spat, narrowing her eyes. The men looked at one another, uncomfortable. Morrible gritted her teeth. She was clearly not happy about this, but Elphaba didn't really care.

"Gentlemen," the older woman asked, "would you please leave us for a moment?"

The two men exchanged another look, but it was not their place to question the Wizard's very own Press Secretary and so they rose and left the room, closing the door behind them. The moment they did so, Morrible's smile melted right off her face.

"Alright, _dearie_," she hissed. "I've played nice for long enough now."

She stalked over to a cabinet in the back of the room and pulled out a book.

"What's that?" Elphaba asked warily.

"Oh, nothing." Morrible grinned at her. "Just a little spell book I keep in here. It's got excellent spells for torture, did you know that? Like this one." She pointed at a page in the book, even though Elphaba couldn't see it from where she was standing. "This one gives the victim the sensation like he is drowning." She chanted the spell and suddenly, water filled Elphaba's nose and mouth, making her choke. She tried to spit it out or swallow it, but it kept coming, soon also pouring over her head, filling her eyes and ears even as she tried to stop it. She couldn't even make out Morrible's satisfied smirk anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to gasp for breath, but she only took in water and she broke into a coughing fit even as more water continued to fill her lungs.

Morrible made a gesture and the water stopped. She waited a while for Elphaba to cough up all the water in her lungs and she laughed. "Did you like that, dearie?"

Elphaba wheezed for breath, unable to reply, and Morrible's smile grew. "That's more like it. Now, Miss Elphaba, I would like for you to tell me where you have hidden the Grimmerie."

"No," Elphaba choked out.

"Yes," Morrible corrected her, "or I'll try another spell on you - I think you'll like this one even more. You see, this one," she explained, "this one gives the victim the sensation of spikes piercing his flesh without there actually being any spikes. Isn't that interesting? Tell me where the Grimmerie is."

Elphaba shook her head, still gasping for breath.

Morrible cast the spell before the green girl could even gather her bearings and watched in interest as blood started to well from Elphaba's skin. She cried out at the feeling of her skin being pierced by something sharp, all over her body at once, when there was nothing there. This book, she realised through the pain, in Morrible's hands, was probably the most dangerous thing in existence – aside from the Grimmerie being in Morrible's hands, obviously. She'd heard about the existence of these kinds of spell books, but the fact that Morrible apparently owned one was most definitely not good.

The pain stopped, even though blood kept trickling down Elphaba's skin.

"You are going to tell me where the Grimmerie is, Miss Elphaba," said Morrible. "Sooner or later, you are going to tell me. Right now, though, I'm going to have to invite those two fine gentlemen back into the room." She gave Elphaba a fake smile. "Be a good girl and confess your crimes to them, would you?"

"Don't you think they'll be suspicious when they see me soaking wet and bleeding all over?" Elphaba asked, her teeth chattering both because of her wet dress and hair and because of the fear she wasn't willing to admit she was feeling. "You're not going to get away with this."

"I'll clean up that mess in a tick-tock, dearie," Morrible said with a snort. "It doesn't take a very complicated spell to take care of that. And if you tell them about any of this, then trust me when I say I will come to your cell tonight and every night after and I will inflict such pain upon you you'll wish you'd be dead." Her eyes were burning when they met Elphaba's and the young witch realised with a shudder that Morrible meant every single word. She had Elphaba cornered and they both knew it.

* * *

**Look! It's cliffy time again! :D**


	7. A Breakthrough

**7\. A Breakthrough**

"Let's say you're right," Nessarose said slowly, eyeing the Vinkun prince sitting across from her suspiciously. "Let's say Elphaba helped me and I helped her in return. Then what?"

"Then I would beg you to tell me where she is," Fiyero said quietly, "because I've been searching for her ever since she first disappeared and even if she doesn't love me back, I want to tell her how I feel and I want to see for myself that she's alright. I want to protect her."

Nessa watched him through narrowed eyes, clearly trying to assess whether or not he was telling the truth.

"I've known you for such a long time," she said finally, "and yet I don't know what to do with you now. Fiyero, I want my sister to be happy. I do. But I don't know if I can trust you, and even if I did trust you, I wouldn't know how she feels about you... this is just so complicated. You're my friend, I think, but you're also Captain of the Gale Force. If I were to tell you now, hypothetically speaking, that I know where Elphaba is and that we're working together, then how should I know you won't arrest me on the spot and torture me until I give away her whereabouts? The Fiyero I know wouldn't do that, but I have hardly seen you since Shiz. People change. I'm inclined to believe you, but I think we all know that my instincts aren't perfect." She sighed. "If they were, I'd have known what to do about Boq," she said wistfully.

Fiyero bit his lip. He could suddenly feel a horrible headache coming up and he rubbed his temples. "How can I convince you?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "This is a complicated situation, Fiyero."

He took a deep breath, making a decision. He'd figured it might come down to this and he had already decided that he was willing to try it, no matter how despicable it made him feel. "I'm really sorry, Nessa, but I'm going to arrest you for treason if you don't tell me where she is."

Her eyes went wide. "You wouldn't."

"I don't want to," he conceded, "but I will if I have to. I _love _her, Nessa," he pleaded. "I'm not giving up on her. Not now that I'm so close." He cocked his head slightly to the side. "I saw you move your legs earlier. You can walk, can't you? Did she do that?"

Nessarose bit her lip, but then realised she didn't really have a choice. "Yes," she whispered.

Fiyero couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He'd been right. He was almost there. "Where is she, Nessa?"

"I can't..." The younger girl was clearly struggling with what she should do or say and what not. "Fiyero, please, you can't ask this of me."

"You know me," he said. He leant forward and took her hands in his, looking into her eyes. "Nessa, you know me. You're right in that I have changed, but not in the ways you think." He squeezed her hands. "I swear to you on everything I hold dear that I would never, _ever_ hurt Elphaba, and that I won't hurt you, either. Please."

She looked into his eyes for a long time.

"Swear it on your mother's grave," she said eventually. She knew how much he had loved his mother, who had passed away about six months after Elphaba had left Shiz; they had all been there for him to help him through it – especially Nessa, who came closest to knowing what it was like to not have a mother anymore.

Fiyero didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. "I swear it on my mother's grave."

She nodded and gave him a shaky smile. "Well, then." She rose from her chair and walked towards the desk. Fiyero watched her in mild awe. Even though he'd suspected that she could walk now, it was still strange to see it for himself.

She took a moment to compose herself, breathing deeply as she leant heavily on the desk. Then she slowly turned around to face Fiyero.

"I don't know for sure where she is," she said, "because she left a couple of days ago and she wouldn't tell me where she went... but I have my suspicions." She met his gaze. "I think your best bet to find her would be to go back to the Emerald City. When she was here, she mentioned a few times that she feels guilty for what she did to the flying Monkeys that day she was declared wicked and I think she went back there to try and set that right."

He nodded. "Thank you, Nessa." He turned around to leave, but her voice stopped him.

"Fiyero?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder. She suddenly looked like that young girl he'd met at Shiz again.

"You swore," she whispered. "You swore it on your mother's grave."

He nodded. "I meant it, Nessa. You can trust me." With that, he left the governor's mansion and immediately mounted his horse again, galloping back to the Emerald City.

* * *

"Do we understand each other?" Morrible asked, raising one eyebrow at the heap of dripping wet, bleeding green girl at her feet. She nudged Elphaba with one of her shoes. "I asked you a question. If you don't agree to work with me here, trust me when I say that I will do horrible things to you, Miss Elphaba. Things you cannot even imagine."

Elphaba had no other choice and she knew that. She might be able to come up with a plan later, but for now, she was going to have to play her part. And so she nodded, lowering her gaze, and Morrible smirked.

"Good."

Then she flicked to another page of her spell book and chanted again.

Elphaba's head whipped up, her eyes wide. "I said I'd do as you asked!"

"And you will," said Morrible casually, interrupting her spell for a moment. "This is your punishment for all the opportunities you took away from me that day you ran off with the Grimmerie, dearie; and for not telling me where it is now." She finished the spell and Elphaba cried out at the feeling of sticks crashing down on her body, bruising her skin. She tried to scramble backwards, but it hurt too much and she finally gave in, curling into a ball and whimpering as she waited for the pain to stop.

"Face it, Elphaba," Morrible hissed as the beating stopped and she approached the raven-haired witch on the floor. "I'm stronger than you are. I am better. You and all your Animal friends – I'm going to torment them and hunt them until there is not a single one of them left and there is nothing in the world that you could possibly do about it."

For some reason, those words re-ignited the fire inside of the green girl. She wasn't doing this for herself. She was doing it for the Animals and she was going to succeed, because what Morrible said wasn't true. That old hag wasn't the stronger one – Elphaba was. Otherwise Morrible would helped the Wizard with his Oz-forsaken plans herself and they would never have needed a magically gifted student to read the Grimmerie for them.

"No," she growled, pushing herself up to her knees.

Morrible snorted. "No? Try to stop me, dearie." She brought her face close to Elphaba's. "And once the Animals are gone," she said with a sickening smile, "and you are burnt at the stake, then I'm going to dispose of that little fluffy friend of yours and her brainless man. I will crush them like a couple of bugs underneath my shoe." She threw her head back and cackled, and that was the final straw for Elphaba.

She never consciously summoned her magic, but somehow it always seemed to know when it was needed and it was fed by her emotions, as always. It was pure and bright green light that hit Morrible, eliciting a horrible scream from her, but Elphaba never saw what happened. She passed out long before Morrible even hit the ground.

* * *

When Fiyero returned to the Palace, he found everything in utter and complete chaos.

Glinda had apparently left the Emerald City a day after he had, claiming she needed some time and space for herself. She'd gone to spend a few days with her parents in Gillikin to distance herself a little from her and Fiyero's relationship and to compose herself so that she would be able to face him again once he returned.

In the meantime, things had gone crazy, one of his fellow Gale Force soldiers told him in a rushed kind of panic as they both hurried through the hallways.

"The Wizard is frantic, Captain," the man was saying, his cheeks flushed and his eyes wide with fear and excitement. "The Wicked Witch was captured earlier this week, but he and Madame Morrible kept it from the public for now because they wanted to interrogate her first and get their facts straight. Madame Morrible and two of our best inquisitors went down to talk to the Witch yesterday afternoon, you know, for an interrogation, and she said some strange things – the Witch, that is – about what's really going on with the Animals... apparently she really confused the inquisitors." The guard looked confused himself at the information.

Fiyero felt icy cold chills crawling down his spine and when the other soldier didn't continue, he demanded, "And then what?"

"Then Madame Morrible asked for some time alone with the Witch," the guard rambled on, "which she was granted, of course, since she's the Press Secretary and all, but they took a really long time coming back out and one of our guards had to force his way in for anyone to see what was going on. The inquisitors and the guards found the Wicked Witch on the floor, dripping wet and bleeding from seemingly everywhere – she was unconscious. And Madame Morrible, Captain, she... she had a gaping hole in her chest. You should have seen it – it was awful and strangely fascinating at the same time. She's dead, sir. Madame Morrible is dead."


	8. A Discovery

**AN: Look, guys! Fluff! Don't get used to it, though... but then again, the real angst won't kick in for another few chapters.**

**Also, the non-Dutchies among you can now get _Broken Dreams _without having to pay a ridiculous amount of shipping costs! :D See AN at the bottom!**

* * *

**8\. A Discovery**

When he was completely honest with himself, Fiyero couldn't care less about Morrible being dead. _Good riddance _was actually the first thing he thought, but he instantly scolded himself for that. He shouldn't be celebrating the death of another human being, even if that human being was such a vile creature as Morrible had been.

"What about E- the Witch?" Fiyero demanded.

"An investigation is going on," said the guard. "It looks like Madame Morrible's death was self-defence on the Witch's part, given all the blood and the spell book with torture spells they found next to Madame Morrible's body. Torture, as you know, is prohibited by law in Oz, so Madame Morrible was wrong in using that method and the council is now deliberating on what should happen, since it seems not everything we know about the Witch is true. It's very strange."

"I want to see her," said Fiyero, his heart pounding in his throat and his headache returning full-force. Sweet Oz, he hoped she was okay. "Where is she?"

The guard looked at him oddly. "In the dungeons, of course, sir."

Fiyero stared at him.

The guard looked a little uncertain and very uncomfortable suddenly. "She's still the Wicked Witch of the West, Captain, even if it turns out not everything is what it seems regarding her. She's a wanted criminal, sir. She was returned to her cell after she was found."

Fiyero closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing his forehead, but his headache only got worse. "At least tell me she got proper medical attention."

When he opened his eyes again, the guard looked even more uncomfortable than before, his face a little red. "Well..."

"Take me to her," Fiyero barked, resisting the urge to strangle this guy – it wasn't his fault, after all – and the guard quickly led him through the palace and to Southstairs.

He pointed to the right. "She's in the extra-secured section, sir, over there. We didn't want her to be able to speak to the other prisoners and possibly influence them or put a spell on them."

Fiyero dismissed him and he hurried off. The prince hesitated only a moment before approaching the cell and peering inside.

Elphaba was curled up in a corner, but when she heard his approaching footsteps, she turned to him. He gasped at the sight she made. He couldn't see her too well in the dim light, but what he did see was enough – the bruises and wounds covering every visible bit of green skin, the blood that stained her dress and glued her hair to her face...

"Fiyero?" she asked, blinking, and he realised he was gaping at her like she was some kind of oddity in a circus.

"Fae," he breathed, moving closer and crouching down beside the bars to her cell. "I'm so sorry."

She huffed. "Of course you are, Mr Captain of the Guard. You can be proud of your men. They treated me the way you probably taught them to treat the Wicked Witch, once you'd finally catch her."

"Elphaba –"

"Stop pretending, Fiyero, I know you're with them now." She glanced up at him through her eyelashes. "Could you please just go away and leave me in peace until they burn me at the stake?"

"What?" he asked, shocked, and she shrugged.

"Or until I find a way to escape this place," she said. "Whichever comes first. But in my current condition, honestly, I don't think I'll be doing a lot of escaping – so congratulations, Captain. You caught the Wicked Witch of the West. I hope you're happy now."

"For Oz's sake, Elphaba, would you just shut up for a clock-tick?" he snapped and she looked at him oddly. He realised she was probably remembering that day with the Lion cub, in that clearing, when he'd called her out on talking too much and she'd called him out on being unhappy.

He suddenly got an idea. "Wait here." He rose and ran off, only to return about ten minutes later, carrying a medical kit and some other things. He fumbled with the keys on his belt and opened the door to Elphaba's cell, going in and closing it behind him.

She eyed him warily. "Aren't you afraid I'll magic-spell your manhood off if you come this close to the Wicked Witch?" she asked with her usual amount of sarcasm and he grinned at her.

"I'll take my chances."

His heart ached for her when he saw what Morrible had done to her, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he gingerly tended to her wounds. He cleaned the blood off her skin with a wet piece of cloth, grimacing sympathetically when he heard her hiss in pain. He managed to talk her out of her dress so that he could see and care for her injuries better and she let him, sitting quietly as he washed off all the blood and treated the wounds. When he finished, he helped her into the clean clothes he brought and he sat behind her, slowly brushing out her curtain of long, raven hair until it shone. He watched her as she ate the food he'd brought her – fruit, cheese, and bread, since he knew she didn't eat meat – and drank a bottle of milk. All this time, neither of them said a word.

She was silent for a while after she had finished, but then she raised her gaze to meet his. "Thank you," she said reluctantly.

He smiled. "You're welcome." He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled it back.

"Why are you here, Fiyero?" she whispered. "What are you doing?"

"That story can wait," he told her. "You look exhausted. Come here." He helped her up and draped several blankets over the cot she'd been sitting on to make it softer before helping her down again. Instead of lying down, though, she just sat on the edge, still watching him.

"Tell me," she insisted.

He sighed. "I'll give you the short version, then," he said, sitting down beside her and looking at her earnestly. "I love you."

He could see the disbelief and wariness in her eyes, but she didn't show her surprise otherwise. She kept looking at him expectantly and then asked, "And?"

"And that's it," he said sheepishly. "That's the short version. I promise I'll tell you everything else later, but you really should sleep now, Elphaba. Trust me. Would I come here to tend to your wounds and give you food if I planned on killing you in your sleep?"

She supposed he was right about that and so she lay down, curling up on her side, facing away from him. Much to her shock, she felt him lying down next to her, his arm loosely around her waist. He used his free hand to stroke her hair, which was still damp from the day before – it didn't really get much of a chance to dry here in this cold, drafty place.

"Relax," he whispered in her ear. "It's okay."

"Tell me," she murmured, already drowsy, and he didn't protest this time. He kept on stroking her hair as he talked softly, telling her everything he had kept inside for so long already as he waited to find her. He told her about his true feelings for her since the day they rescued that Lion cub. He told her about Shiz and that it had never been the same for any of them after she had left; that Nessa had slowly grown cold and bitter and how possessive of him Glinda had become. He told her how he'd gone with Glinda to the Emerald City and played along for a long time, but the only real reason he'd ever joined the Gale Force was because he thought it would be the best way to find the girl he really loved – Elphaba. He told her about Glinda's surprise engagement party and their ensuing break-up, and then he told her about his trip to Munchkinland, which had eventually led him back here. To her.

By the time he finished, he was sure she had fallen asleep, so he was startled when he heard her whisper, "You're insane."

"I know. It's one of my many qualities."

She turned around to face him, wincing a little in pain as she did so. "I don't believe you," she said. "This is crazy, Fiyero. I don't believe you."

"How can I prove it to you?"

She furrowed her brow and tilted her head a little to the side, clearly thinking about that. Then she gave him a little smirk.

"Kiss me," she said smugly.

She was absolutely sure he wouldn't do it. No-one in her life had ever wanted to kiss her – most people were repulsed by the mere thought of doing such a thing. Even if Fiyero did still like her as a friend after two years, she was positive he would never want to kiss her.

So she was completely dumbstruck when he smiled, said, "Gladly", took her face between his hands, and kissed her gently on the lips.

What started out as a soft and relatively chaste kiss quickly turned into something else when Fiyero deepened the kiss, encircling Elphaba's waist with one arm to bring her closer. He used his free hand to cradle the back of her head and her arms slowly came up to wind around his neck. He grinned against her lips, kissing her more firmly now, more passionately, until a sound escaped her throat that sounded almost like a purr.

He broke away then, both of them a little breathless – Elphaba was actually gasping. "Wow."

"I think 'wow' sums it up very well," Fiyero said with a slightly cocky grin. "Want to try again?"

"You're crazy," she breathed, but when he came closer, she didn't move away. "Absolutely insane. Fiyero, you can't –" Whatever else she had wanted to say was cut off by his lips once again pressing against hers.

"Sleep, Fae," he whispered when they broke apart again. He ran his hand over her hair and cradled her to his chest as she curled up beside him once more. "We can talk later."

He listened as her breathing eventually evened out and he just lay there, taking in the enigma that was Elphaba Thropp, the girl he was sure was the love of his life, sleeping beside him. After more than two years, she was finally here in his arms and he knew he would rather die than ever let her go again.

* * *

**Now for the book: _Broken Dreams _is now available via Amazon . com, as well as Amazon Europe. The link to the American Amazon is this one (remove spaces):  
**** www . amazon Broken-Dreams-Maddy-Lanslots /dp/1508935874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1430336941&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=maddy+lanslots**

**I'm also on Goodreads from now on:  
www . goodreads user/show/42625743-maddy-lanslots**

**I can't add _Broken Dreams _until tomorrow; but once I do, it'd be really great if the ones of you who have already read it could leave me a review - either on Amazon or on Goodreads... thanks a lot in advance! :D**


	9. A Mission

**AN: Yes, fluff... there will be some more in the next chapters - it's kind of building up slowly to that point where everything will go wrong and you'll all hate me again :3.**

**AlwaysAmusedAO3: Thank you for pointing that out! Unfortunately, I can't see the link you posted, either :(. I've put the Amazon link in my profile as well now - does it still not work? (Because I think the previous one might not have worked because FF filtered out some letters. Sigh.)**

**Severussnapefan123: Thank you so much! That's a huge compliment! ^^**

**Fiyeraba's Love Child: Yeah, I still want my own Fiyero, too... *sobs along with you***

* * *

**9\. A Mission**

He slept fitfully, starting at every sound; while Elphaba, much to his surprise, didn't wake up even once. He suspected her to be a light sleeper otherwise – she had been at Shiz, Glinda had told him, and he thought that would probably only have gotten worse during her time on the run – but her body probably needed a lot of sleep for her wounds to heal right now. He lay awake in the dark for a while, listening to her even breathing, until he heard the door to the dungeons open and he jumped, quickly leaving Elphaba's cell and closing the door behind him.

The guard coming in looked surprised to see him. "Captain? Have you been down here all this time? Borr told me you were going to see the Witch..."

"I did," Fiyero said haughtily, staring the other man down. "I have spent a long time tending to her wounds. Just so you know, soldier – prisoners are human beings, too, and they deserve to be treated as such. Even the Witch of the West should not be left alone and bleeding in the dark without any medical attention. Is that understood?"

The man shrunk under his captain's gaze. "Yes, Captain."

"Good." Fiyero nodded. "I am just checking up on all the prisoners one more time, so you can skip your round today. I'll see you later."

"Yes, sir." The guard hurried off and Fiyero went back into Elphaba's cell, watching her for a while. He was torn between wanting to stay with her and the knowledge that he could get into trouble if anyone found him... but then again, he knew that no-one would come for at least another few hours. He'd just make sure to be out of here before that.

He settled back in beside Elphaba and she snuggled closer to him in her sleep, murmuring something. He smiled and closed his eyes.

Sleep quickly pulled him under as well and he had a vivid dream of Elphaba running through a forest, terror in her eyes as she glanced over her shoulder every now and then and tried to run harder. The Gale Force was on her heels, shouts filling Fiyero's ears as he watched them come closer and closer to her. One of them leapt forward and she let out a yelp when he tackled her to the ground. She fought, but the soldier was stronger than she was and pinned her down, grinning at her maliciously.

"Now we finally have you," he hissed while his colleagues approached with rope to tie her down.

Fiyero shouted, "No!", and jumped the man, the two of them rolling further into the bushes. The soldier punched him in the face and Fiyero grunted, but quickly gained the upper hand, holding the man down to the floor with more force than was probably necessary. The Gale Force soldier groaned and the others tried to pry Fiyero off him, but the prince stayed put.

"You are not touching her again," he snarled, tightening his grip on the man's wrists whilst pressing his knees into the soldier's sides until he hissed in pain.

"Fiyero," the man gasped.

The prince frowned. How did that soldier know his name?

It was a soft whimper that finally pulled him from his hazy nightmare. "Fiyero, you're hurting me."

He blinked, the face of the soldier from his dream suddenly morphing into Elphaba's face. He realised he was forcefully holding her down to the cot by her wrists, just like he'd done with the man in his dream. He was pressing down on her with his weight and her dark eyes were filled with pain and fear.

He instantly let go of her, horrified at himself. "Oh my Oz, Fae... I'm so sorry," he stammered. "I didn't... I mean... I was dreaming, and..."

She groaned softly as she sat up, wincing at the movement, and she rubbed her sore wrists. "Were you having a nightmare?"

He nodded, biting his lip. "I dreamt that the Gale Force were after you and they caught you, and I just... I'm sorry. Please, I swear I didn't mean to hurt you," he pleaded and she searched his face before nodding.

"It's okay," she said. "You can't control what you do in your sleep. I used to sleepwalk when I was younger, so I can relate." She gave him a shaky smile, but he still didn't feel better.

"I'll go now," he muttered. He stood and looked down at her. "I'm going to get you out of here, Fae."

She looked back up at him with huge, dark eyes. "You can't," she said, her voice almost chiding. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm not." He was completely serious. "One way or another, Elphaba, I'm going to get you out of here." With that, he leant down to softly kiss her lips before slipping out of her cell and locking it behind him, going off to find a way to fulfil his promise to her.

* * *

"Glinda!" Nessarose cried out the moment she arrived at the Emerald Palace and saw the blonde girl. Glinda rushed forward to hug her old friend, but Nessa was too agitated to really respond.

"Is it true?" she asked anxiously. "Has she been captured?"

"I don't know," Glinda said, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I was out of town. I was with my parents after Fiyero and I... fought." She still couldn't bring herself to say "broke up". "I only just arrived myself, but I haven't seen Fiyero yet, or anyone else who would tell me what's going on!"

"Lady Glinda!" a maid cried out upon seeing the blonde. She quickly dropped into a curtsy. "Welcome home! Would you like me to escort you to your chambers? Shall we bring up your suitcases?"

"Yes," said Glinda, glancing quickly at Nessarose. "Take my suitcases to my room and show Governor Thropp to one of our guest bedrooms, please. She will be staying her for a couple of days at least." She cocked her head a little to the side. "And would you be so good as to fetch my... Fiyero for me?" She had wanted to say "my fiancé" or even just "my boyfriend", but he now was neither of those anymore. She bit her lip. This was all so complicated. Everything was spinning out of control and she didn't know how to stop it.

"Of course, Your Goodness," the maid said with another curtsy. She dropped her voice. "If I may speak freely, though..."

"You may."

"Captain Tiggular has been acting rather strange since he returned from his trip to Munchkinland," the maid said in a low voice. "He is working a lot, spending most of his time in the dungeons... I think he misses you, Your Goodness. He's not himself."

Glinda smiled sadly. "Thank you for telling me that. I think I will have tea with Governor Thropp in the parlour first. Could you bring up our luggage? We won't be long?"

The maid left and Glinda pushed Nessa's chair to the parlour, where she waited for her tea to arrive. Then she closed and locked the door and turned to look at Nessa.

"It's true, then," she said. "Elphaba is here."

Nessa looked at her sympathetically. "Maybe he's really just working hard –"

"Of course not, Nessa. Please. Don't placate me." Glinda sighed and sat down. "She's in the dungeons and he's visiting her. It's as simple as that. What we need to worry about now is how we can get her out."

Nessa's eyes grew wide. "You want to break her out of Southstairs?!"

"You want to let her stay there?" Glinda countered. "After all she's done for you?"

Nessa flushed. "No, of course not." She shook her head. "But we can't just _break _her out. Can't we... can't we tell people the truth?"

Glinda snorted in a very Elphaba-like manner. "I'd love to do that, Nessa. I would. But you know as well as I do that Morrible would have my head before that story could get out."

"Morrible?" Nessa gave the blonde a strange look. "Did you not hear?"

"Hear what?"

"I heard it in an inn on my way to the City," said Nessarose. "Glinda, Madame Morrible is dead."

Glinda froze. "What?"

"That's when word got out about Elphaba's imprisonment," Nessa explained. "They caught her in the Throne Room when she was freeing the flying Monkeys, but I heard that Morrible interrogated Elphaba and she used a book containing torture spells, which, as you know, is prohibited in Oz – or, well, torture in general is. They think it was self-defence on Elphaba's part, because they found her covered in water and blood, with wounds all over her body, unconscious... and Morrible was dead."

"Sweet Oz..." Glinda whispered. "I didn't know. I mean... I heard they got Elphaba, but that's all. I didn't know any of the details." Her eyes were wide. "Is Elphie okay?"

Nessa shrugged helplessly. "How should I know? I just... I hope so." She bit her lip. "But if Fiyero is seeing her, then at least she's still alive, right?"

"Right," agreed Glinda, biting her lip as well. She started pacing. "What should we do now?"

"Talk to Fiyero," Nessa suggested. "We could come up with a plan together."

Glinda nodded slowly. "If the people already know Morrible's death was self-defence on Elphaba's part, perhaps they'll be slightly more sympathetic towards her. That could be the political environment we need to start the process of clearing Elphaba's name... perhaps give her a fair trial. There's only one problem." She looked at Nessa. "The Wizard."

"He still holds all the power," Nessa nodded. "So we need to either eliminate him or get him on our side."

"How?" asked Glinda and the younger girl sighed.

"I don't know, Glinda. I don't hold all the answers." She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. "Let's talk to Fiyero first and then we'll see, okay?"

"Okay." Glinda sipped her tea and stretched her legs, sighing at the feeling. "Oh, I hate being all cramped in a carriage for so long."

"I do, too," said Nessa, who also stretched her legs slowly, carefully. "I used to not mind so much, because, you know, I couldn't really use my legs and I didn't feel much in them, either, but..." She faltered when she saw Glinda gawking at her moving legs. "Oh," she said sheepishly. "I hadn't told you yet. I can walk now."

Glinda stared at her. "What..."

"Elphaba," said Nessa softly. She pushed herself to her feet, took a moment to find her balance, and then slowly took a few steps. "I'm still learning," she admitted. "I'm not used to walking and I can't show or tell other people without exposing Elphaba, so I don't have much time to practise... but it's so much better than before." She smiled. "Elphaba did it... for me. I owe her so much, Glinda. I've been so cold and mean to her... I have to set things right somehow."

"I know." Glinda smiled encouragingly at Nessarose. "We'll figure something out."

* * *

**So, as I said, I put the Amazon link on my profile, since it didn't show up properly in the AN of the previous chapter... if it doesn't work, just go to Amazon and search on my full name - Maddy Lanslots. It's a unique enough combination, so no other people should show up :P.**


	10. A Plan

**AN: Hey guys, sorry this update is late! I was off seeing _War Horse _yesterday (it was really, really beautiful) and I didn't have time to update.**

* * *

**10\. A Plan**

"Fae?" Fiyero whispered as he pushed open the cell door as quietly as he could. "Are you awake?"

There was no sound and he moved forward, figuring she was asleep. That was why he was so startled when a shape suddenly shot past him and out of the still-open cell door, into the aisle and around the corner before he even realised what was happening.

"Elphaba!" he shouted, chasing her. "Come back!" He sped up, his heart pounding as he could feel panic rising in his throat. He knew what she was trying to do. "Until I find a way to escape this place", she'd said, and that was exactly what she was doing now; only that was a bad idea. She was still in bad shape due to her injuries and even aside from that, he knew things she didn't. Things like the fact that there were four armed guards just outside the doors to the dungeons. Things like the order that had been in place for a very long time and that said every prisoner attempting an escape was to be shot on sight. She would never make it.

"Elphaba, _stop_!" he yelled, chasing her around another corner. He had to stop her from reaching the door.

He suddenly heard a gasp and a thump and he ran even faster, turning yet another corner before he saw her in a heap on the floor, cursing as she tried to scramble to her feet, but she had to sink back down at the pain shooting through her heavily bruised back. She coughed and hissed in pain. When she heard his footsteps, she glanced over her shoulder and then forced herself to her feet again, moving forward. Her delay had given Fiyero the advantage he needed, however, and he launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her to stop her. She struggled, but she gave up quickly, her breaths coming in short gasps.

"Let me go," she ordered.

He shook his head. "No. Fae, you'd get yourself killed," he said pleadingly. "They'd shoot you!"

"I can't stay here, Fiyero!" she shouted at him. "I'm not just going to sit here and wait for them to execute me!"

"No-one is going to execute you! I won't let them!"

"Could you keep it down?" a man's voice asked gruffly from a cell nearby. "The peace and quiet of this place is all the comfort some of us have, you know."

"Sorry," Fiyero called out, gently but firmly taking Elphaba's arm and pulling her with him.

"It's not like you have any say in the matter, Yero," said Elphaba quietly as she followed him. "You won't be able to keep them from killing me if that's what they want."

He didn't say anything as he led her back to her cell and sat her down. He closed and locked the door behind him before sitting down on the cot next to her and pulling out the medical kit again, changing the bandages on her wounds and gently brushing a hand over her back. The bruised skin of her back looked almost black in the dim light and he softly rubbed some kind of cream into it that was supposed to help with the pain.

"You're too badly hurt," he said softly. "You'd never make it, Fae. Please don't try to do that again. Please. I can't lose you."

She opened her mouth to reply, but broke into coughs once again before she could get a word out. Fiyero frowned worriedly and felt her forehead, which was warm. She'd told him what Morrible had done to her with the torture spell using water. Could she have caught pneumonia because of it? If that was the case, he needed to come up with a plan fast or she'd die here in these drafty dungeons.

He stroked her hair until she stopped coughing and then he pulled her in his arms. She stiffened at first, but then she relaxed and sagged against him, her head against his shoulder.

"I'm going to leave some pills here," he whispered into her hair. "You've got to take one of those with every meal, okay? They'll help with the fever."

"I'm fine," she muttered, not sounding very convincing, and he decided to not even dignify that with a reply. He rubbed his forehead, wincing as a stab of pain shot through his head. He really needed a good night's sleep. He hardly spent a night in his bed anymore and when he did, he just lay awake all night long, worrying about Elphaba. He preferred sleeping in her cell, but he didn't get much sleep that way, either – he was always alert, afraid a guard would come in and find him. If he was caught, he would never be able to help her get out of here.

"Yero?" she mumbled after a while, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"You shouldn't be here so often," she whispered, as if she had read his mind. "People will start asking questions."

"Let me worry about that," he said, moving his hand to stroke her cheek. He wished things could be normal between them. That they could just be a normal couple and have a normal relationship – or try to have one, anyway.

Then again, he mused, nothing about Elphaba had ever been normal and he suspected nothing never would be. He knew she saw that as a bad thing, but it was one of the reasons he loved her so much. She wouldn't have been half as beautiful if she hadn't been green and not half as attractive if she hadn't been so sarcastic and defensive. He wouldn't love her half as much if she'd been a rosy-skinned, giggling Galinda-like society girl – though he was sure he would still love her more than he ever could anyone else.

"I love you," he whispered randomly and he saw her roll her eyes, which made him grin. She yawned and he made her lie down. He waited by her side until her breathing evened out and she fell asleep and then he left quietly.

When he emerged again from the dungeons, a hand suddenly touched his shoulder and he jumped.

"Relax, it's just me," Glinda sniffed and he turned, exhaling slowly.

"Oz, Glin. Don't startle me like that," he admonished her. She scowled and crossed her arms. Only then did Fiyero notice Nessarose sitting in her chair beside the blonde and he smiled tiredly. "Hey, Nessa."

"Hi, Fiyero," she replied, returning his smile, but it faded quickly. "Is she in there?"

He nodded, not needing to ask what she meant, and she lowered her gaze.

"I was afraid so," she whispered, "but I hoped it wasn't true."

"We need to come up with a plan," Glinda told Fiyero, lowering her voice to avoid being overheard. "To free her."

His shoulders slumped. "I know." He glanced around the hallway and then beckoned the girls, making his way over to his private quarters before closing the door behind him and turning to face his two friends. "I don't know what to do, though."

"How is she?" Nessa asked softly and Fiyero hesitated before answering.

"She's... she's been hurt pretty badly," he admitted quietly. "Morrible used several torture spells on her. She's covered in small wounds and bruises – apparently Morrible used spells to do that to her – and I think she's developing pneumonia due to the way Morrible used water to..." He faltered when he saw the horrified expression on Nessa's face, the way she'd clasped her hands over her mouth and the tears in her eyes, and he didn't finish his sentence. Instead he just said, "She's holding up, of course – you know her. She can be hurt, but she will never be broken. She's insisting she's fine and I believe that she could hold out down there for a while longer, but the truth is that she's not doing too well, Nessa. She'd never admit it, but her physical condition is far from good. I'm sorry."

"It's all my fault," the younger girl whispered. "If only I'd helped her better, or sooner... I should never have let her go back to the City on her own."

"We've all made mistakes," Glinda said softly, placing her hand on Nessarose's arm. "We can't change the past. What matters now is that we try to set those mistakes right."

Nessa sniffled and nodded. "Right." She looked up at Fiyero. "Do you have a plan?"

He shook his head miserably. "None whatsoever. I mean, I know we have to get her out of there – she'll die if we don't. Soon she'll get too sick to last much longer."

Nessa made a choked sound.

"But how we should do that?" Fiyero continued. "I haven't got the faintest clue. Southstairs is heavily guarded. I know their schedules and the way things work – that's how I've managed to spend so much time down there with her without anyone noticing. We could use that to get her out of the dungeons. The biggest problem, however, would be what we should do with her afterwards." He looked at the two girls. "We might manage to get her out of Southstairs," he said, "but we'd never succeed in getting her out of the Palace, let alone the City."

Glinda suddenly perked up, her eyes glittering. She exchanged a look with Nessa and then said, "Maybe we don't have to."

Fiyero frowned slightly and Nessa looked up at the blonde girl hopefully. Glinda just smiled.

"Get ready, guys," she said, giggling with excitement. "Little Miss Blondie has a plan."


	11. An Escape

**11\. An Escape**

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Fiyero said amiably to the two guards standing by the doors that led down to the dungeons. "Governor Nessarose Thropp of Munchkinland would like to visit her sister, who is a prisoner here."

"The Wicked Witch of the West." One of the guards looked at the figure in the wheelchair, clad all in black with only her eyes faintly visible, sympathetically. "She must be such a disgrace to your family's name."

"She is," the girl in the wheelchair declared, trying to sound just like Nessarose. "That is why I have taken up the faith, to try and make amends with the Unnamed God for the horrible curse she has brought over our family. My poor father perished of shame once he heard about what my sister had done."

"That's why she generally doesn't show any hair or skin," Fiyero said in a low voice to his soldiers. "Her faith requires it of her."

They nodded in understanding.

"Why do you want to talk to her?" one of them asked the girl in the chair.

"I want to try and make her see the light," she said in a soft voice. "Perhaps she will listen to me when I tell her to confess her sins and atone for them. She could still earn the Unnamed God's forgiveness, if she begs it."

Fiyero shrugged. "I figured, since the interrogations failed, we might as well try this," he said. "If she confesses... the Governor _is _her sister, after all."

The guards nodded again. "You may pass," one of them said and the other opened the door.

Fiyero smiled at them. "Thank you, gentlemen." He pushed the chair forward and down the ramp that would lead the two of them to the rows of cells.

Glinda heaved a sigh of relief. "That went well, didn't it?" She smiled widely. "Don't you think my impression of Nessarose was simply _wonderful_? I could have made name as an actress easily, you know. I have a talent for it."

"You sure have the dramatics for it," Fiyero muttered and Glinda turned around in the chair to glare at him and pinch his arm. He yelped and gave the chair a push. "Don't be obnoxious!"

"Look who's talking," Glinda grumbled, but she stayed quiet as the two of them made their way to the cell Elphaba was staying in.

Fiyero opened the cell door and went inside. She was curled up on her side, asleep, and he gently shook her. "Fae? Wake up, sweetheart. It's me."

Her eyelids fluttered and she yawned as she opened her eyes and stretched, wincing instantly at the pain. He cooed softly at her as he stroked her hair and waited for her to wake up.

Glinda could not help but flinch a little upon hearing her former fiancé talking to her best friend like that. He'd told her that he had confessed his true feelings to Elphaba and that she seemed to return them, and Glinda was genuinely trying to be happy for them – especially for Elphaba, who had already been through so much and could use some happiness in her life – but she couldn't deny that it was hard. A part of her still loved Fiyero and wished he'd come back. A part of her was still incredibly jealous of Elphaba, wishing that she were the one he called "sweetheart". Another part of her had never stopped being upset with him and wanted to punch him in the face again – maybe she'd manage to actually break his nose this time.

She swallowed all those feelings, though, and watched as Fiyero crouched beside the cot Elphaba was lying on.

"Fae," he said when she looked at him and he knew he had her full attention, "we're going to get you out of here."

Her eyes widened. "Now?" she croaked. "Who's "we"?"

"Fiyero and I," said Glinda, stepping forward, and Elphaba's eyes widened even further. Glinda smiled tearfully upon seeing her friend. "Oh, Elphie... I've missed you so much!" she cried, gingerly hugging Elphaba, who, perhaps for the first time since she knew her, actually hugged her back.

"I've missed you, too," the green girl whispered. "But... I mean, how..."

"Don't worry," Glinda assured her, squeezing her hands. "Our plan is completely fool-proof."

Elphaba looked sceptical and together, Glinda and Fiyero explained it to her: that Fiyero had just wheeled in what the guards thought was Nessarose, who had supposedly come to plead with Elphaba to confess, while the real Nessarose was waiting in Glinda's chambers.

Elphaba was astonished. "Nessa is _here_?!"

"She came to find out if you were really captured, and to try and help you if she could," Glinda explained. "She lent us her chair for this, you know, since she doesn't technically need it anymore."

"So I will wheel "Nessa" out of the dungeons again in a few minutes," Fiyero said with a small grin, "only it won't be Nessa or Glinda – it will be you."

"All covered in black fabric, except for your eyes," Glinda told her friend as she started unwrapping the shawls from her own head and shoulders and draped them around Elphaba, "because you are highly religious."

Elphaba let out a wry laugh. "They'll never buy that."

"They did just now," Glinda said, "and they will again."

"But if I'm in the chair, pretending to be Nessa," said Elphaba, blinking slowly, "then what about you, Glin?"

Glinda smiled. "I," she said, perching on the edge of Elphaba's cot, "am going to sit here, locked up in your old cell, and wait for them to find me."

Elphaba frowned, unsure, and Fiyero explained, "She's going to pretend you – the Witch of the West – somehow managed to escape and lock up Glinda the Good. That'll explain the fact that you are missing from your cell."

"It'll also earn me a lot of sympathy," Glinda chimed in, "which would mean they'll never suspect me of helping you escape. It'll also mean that I have an excuse to tell everyone that I want privacy in my own rooms, because, you know, I'll need to recover from the trauma," she batted her eyelashes, "so no-one will come in... which means you can safely stay there."

"While the Gale Force searches for you everywhere but here because they'll assume you'd have fled the City as soon as possible," Fiyero finished.

Elphaba looked at Fiyero, then at Glinda, and then back at the prince. "That..." She bit her lip. "That sounds almost as if it could work."

"Almost?" Fiyero scoffed. "It's a perfect plan, Fae."

"It is," Glinda nodded, tossing her curls over her shoulders. "I came up with it."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow and Glinda giggled, throwing her arms around her friend once again. "Oh, Elphie, I've really missed you. And I'm so sorry for what Morrible did to you!" Her eyes filled with tears as she finally took the time to study Elphaba. She felt how warm her skin was and she shuddered at the sight of all the bandages she was covered in, only able to imagine what must be underneath them.

"It's okay, Glin," said Elphaba. "It wasn't your fault."

Glinda sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Right. Okay. Let's get you out of here."

They covered Elphaba in the black fabric, making sure not a glimpse of green skin was visible, and then they sat her down in the wheelchair. Glinda kissed her cheek and waved at the two of them as Fiyero closed and locked the cell door. They exchanged one last look. They both knew that if this wouldn't work, they'd all be dead – not just Elphaba, but the two of them would probably be hanged for treason as well, or at the very least locked up down here for many years.

They also both knew, however, that it was worth it. They'd both risk prison or death for a chance to save Elphaba's life.

Fiyero pushed the chair back to the entrance of Southstairs and Glinda sat down on the cot, her back straight so as not to touch more in this filthy cell than necessary. She listened for the door to open and close and she tried to think of pleasant things as she waited for someone to find her.


	12. A Reprieve

**12\. A Reprieve**

"Did it work?" one of the guards asked when Fiyero and "Nessarose" came out of the dungeons again.

Fiyero shook his head. "I didn't really expect it to," he said with a sigh, "but it was worth the try."

The guard sighed, too. "It's a shame. Although it seems the investigation is progressing," he said.

Fiyero nodded. "Didn't His Ozness command the whole affair with Morrible to be examined thoroughly? What did they find so far?"

"I don't know," one of the guards said. "No-one told me anything."

"Me, neither," his companion agreed. "All I know is that the investigation is being led by one of the Wizard's advisors and by Lady Glinda herself. There are rumours going around saying the Witch only defended herself against Madame Morrible's torture –"

"That is true," Fiyero interjected. "I know that much."

The men looked surprised. "It is?" one of them asked. "How strange."

"I've heard it said," the other said, lowering his voice, "that the Witch does not seem to be as wicked as we have always been told she was."

"I've heard that, too," his companion nodded. "It's said that Morrible has been spreading lies, perhaps even fooling the Wizard himself."

"The Wizard can't be fooled," the first guard chided him. "He knows everything."

"Aye," the other agreed, "but I've heard that she cast a spell on him so that she could carry out her own evil plans without him knowing."

"I don't know the truth," said Fiyero, wanting to get away from these men, "but I am sure Lady Glinda and the Wizard's advisor will get to the bottom of this. Now if you'll excuse me, I will escort Miss Nessarose back to her chambers – she is rather tired."

He pushed the chair away from them, his heart pounding in his throat, expecting them to call him back and pull off the scarves to reveal Elphaba's emerald green skin; but that never happened. He made it safely to Glinda's quarters and he let out a long, shaky breath.

He heard Elphaba let out one of her own. "I can't believe that worked."

"Me, neither," he said, a grin slowly spreading across his face as he realised that their plan had really worked. "But it did. It worked, Fae!" He picked her up and twirled her around, a big grin on his face as he kissed her. "You're free!"

"Don't celebrate yet," she warned him, though she had to smile at his enthusiasm. "I could still be discovered in here, and Glinda..." She trailed off, clearly worried, but Fiyero brushed her off.

"Glinda will be fine," he told her firmly. "If she's not found and freed before tonight, I will go and pretend to find her myself. Come on – I'm taking you to Glinda's bedroom and I'll lock it."

"No," she protested. "If one of her maids tries to come in and finds the door locked, she'll be suspicious – especially if they find out that Glinda was in the dungeons at the time they found her door locked."

Fiyero bit his lip, realising that she was right. "Yes, well..."

"Come to my chambers," a new voice said, startling them both. Nessa was standing behind them and she smiled when she saw her sister, though there were tears in her eyes. "Oh, Fabala..." She quickly moved forward to hug the green girl. "I'm so glad you're still alive."

Elphaba hugged her back and Fiyero smiled. "You'd do that, Nessa? Hide her in your chambers?"

Nessarose nodded. "Of course. Just swathe her in scarves again and follow me," she said. "No-one recognises me like this, anyway – aside from you and Glinda, no-one here has ever seen the governor of Munchkinland and they all believe her to be in a wheelchair. There were a few guards and maids walking around when I arrived, but they'd never recognise me. I'll just wear my hair loose and walk around and no-one will even consider me to be... well, me." She smiled a little.

"Smart," said Fiyero. "So you can basically move around the castle without being recognised at all?"

Nessa giggled. "Yes. Basically. I could spy for you guys, if need be," she offered.

Fiyero laughed. "We might take you up on that."

They helped Elphaba back into the chair and Fiyero pushed her to Nessa's rooms. The younger girl locked the doors of her bedroom behind them and Fiyero lifted Elphaba out of the wheelchair and onto the bed, pulling the shawls off her and tossing them aside.

He brushed some stray locks away from her forehead, realising as he did so that her hair was damp and her forehead covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "Are you alright?"

"'Course," she mumbled. She heaved a sigh as she spread her arms and legs and closed her eyes for a moment. "Sweet Oz, it's good to lie in a real bed again. You wouldn't believe how amazing it was to sleep in my own bed for a few nights, when I was staying with Nessa," she told Fiyero. "Have you got any idea what it feels like to lie down on a mattress, between pillows and blankets, after two years of sleeping on forest floors and in trees? I mean, I was invited inside an Animal's house occasionally, but they were just getting by, too. No matter how kindly offered, their beds couldn't compare to a bed in the governor's mansion, let alone one in the Emerald Palace."

Nessa giggled. "I can imagine." She walked over to the closet and opened it, searching it and coming back up with a dark blue nightgown. "Here you go. You'd better change out of that dress and wash up a little." She hesitated. "Do you want me or Fiyero to help you with that?"

"I can wash myself, thank you," Elphaba said a little prickly and Nessa quickly gave in.

"Okay."

Fiyero, too, knew better than to argue, so they just watched as Elphaba took the nightgown from her sister and moved towards the bathroom.

"Everything you need is in there," Nessa told her sister. "There's a clean towel on the rack, too. Call me if you need anything else."

"We'll be right outside," Fiyero added and Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Of course you will be. I'm _fine_," she stressed, but neither Nessa nor Fiyero moved away and so the dark-haired witch just rolled her eyes again before disappearing in the bathroom.

It felt incredible to be completely clean again after having spent over a week in those cold, filthy dungeons. She cleaned herself thoroughly and washed her hair, carefully drying it with the towel and brushing it out. By the time she emerged again, she felt like a whole different person.

Nessa, who was sitting on the bed looking lost in thought, looked up when she heard her sister and smiled. "Better?"

Elphaba nodded and glanced around the room. "Where's Yero?"

Nessarose nodded at a chair by the window, where the prince had clearly sat down to wait for Elphaba, but he had fallen asleep on the spot.

"He told me he'd had a few rough nights," said Nessa. "I guess he needs his sleep, but he looks a little uncomfortable."

Elphaba had to smile at the picture he made. "He always was good at falling asleep in random places."

"In class, half lying over his desk," Nessa remembered with a giggle.

"In the park, with a book on his face," Elphaba said in amusement. "Or when he came by our room and had to wait for Galinda to get ready – he'd sprawl on her bed and snore there for half an hour until she came out of the bathroom."

"Even in the café, remember? When we were all together to have a drink and talk a bit, Fiyero would just lean his head back and fall asleep in his chair." Nessa laughed at the memory. "And then Boq would look around to see if no-one was watching and he'd let himself fall asleep as well, while we all pretended not to notice."

The sisters shared a look and then both burst into giggles. Elphaba couldn't even remember the last time she'd genuinely laughed about something and especially not like this, with Nessa. For a moment, it felt like nothing had changed at all – like they were still just the two Thropp sisters, laughing about some ridiculous story Galinda had just told them, or the crazy rumours that were going around about Pfannee and Shenshen.

But they weren't, and Elphaba soon shook herself back to the present. She moved over to where Fiyero was sitting.

"You should get some rest, Fabala," said Nessa softly.

"I know." Elphaba knelt down next to the prince. "But so should he. Properly, I mean. Yero?" She lightly touched his arm. "Wake up. You can't sleep in a chair."

He didn't even stir and she rolled her eyes.

Nessa giggled again. "He always was a heavy sleeper."

"Unless he's on edge," said Elphaba. "He stayed with me in the dungeons a few times – I've never seen him so jumpy, waking up at every sound because he was afraid we'd get caught. Fiyero!" She shook him. "Wake up, you idiot."

He muttered something and she shook him again. His eyes slowly opened and he frowned blearily.

"What're you manhandling me for?" he mumbled.

Elphaba poked him in the side, making him squirm. "If you're going to sleep, do it in the bed," she advised him.

He sighed and grumbled something before pushing himself up, shuffling over to the bed, and collapsing on his stomach. Elphaba and Nessa exchanged another grin before the green girl crawled into the bed as well, nestling her head on Fiyero's back.

"I'll go sit in the parlour and wait for news on Glinda," Nessa told her sister softly. "I'll lock the door behind me so you two can get some rest."

"Wake me up if there's news," Elphaba murmured and her sister nodded.

"I will."

Both Elphaba and Fiyero were asleep before Nessa had even locked the door behind her.

* * *

**Angst is only a chapter away... or two. I'm not sure.**

**Anyway, as some of you have noticed, I have started posting a second fanfic alongside this one :). It's called _Roads Not Taken _and it includes Shiz, a very perky Galinda, a band, Fiyero and his girlfriend-that-is-not-Elphaba, Elphaba and her boyfriend-that-is-not-Fiyero, and of course Fiyeraba despite all that :P.**


	13. Another Dream

**AN: I love how when I say "angst", you guys all go, "Crap, who's dying?". I'm not saying, though. Heheh.**

**Silvine Fae Graycin: No, Boq isn't tin - Nessa told Elphaba in the first chapter that he left her a while ago, so he was never there when Elphaba enchanted Nessa's shoes and such. That's one possibility down... but many more are still open.**

* * *

**13\. Another Dream**

Elphaba dreamt that she was chased by the Gale Force. She seemed to have those dreams a lot; most of them were based on things that had actually happened to her during her time on the run, only with a different ending. She recognised this memory as one of her having tried to spy on a small group of Gale Force soldiers, high up in a tree, to see if she could hear anything that might be of use to her. She'd scooted too far to the end of the branch and it had snapped, dumping her in the middle of the soldiers. She'd leapt to her feet and run off before they'd even really realised what was happening, but of course they'd started chasing her as soon as they'd recovered from the shock.

In real life, she'd managed to gain on them until she was out of their sight and she'd quickly scaled another tree and watched from above how they stormed right past her, believing she was still ahead of them. She'd waited for them to give up the chase and return to their camp before climbing down, finding her broom, and flying off to a different part of the forest.

In her dream, however, she was still running, her hair flying behind her, and they were gaining on her. One of them jumped forward and tackled her to the ground. His companions approached her, wicked grins on their faces and spears in their hands, and one of the guards raised his spear and brought it down, pointing at her face.

She awoke with a gasp, shuddering all over, and it took her a moment to realise that she was still in Nessa's chambers in the Emerald Palace. Fiyero was snoring softly beside her and she shivered and huddled in the blankets, scooting a little closer to him. His snoring stopped and his eyes opened a little.

"You okay?" he muttered.

She nodded against his shoulder and he drew her in closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Don't worry," he whispered, as if he'd read her mind. "You're safe now."

She heaved a deep sigh and snuggled into his embrace, soon drifting off to sleep again. She dreamt of a long night in a forest with Fiyero and of Nessarose inexplicably being crushed by a flying house. She dreamt of large, mechanical, golden heads and of herself dancing with the Wizard. She dreamt of scarecrows and cornfields and empty castles. None of it made sense, but at least she knew it wasn't real, so these dreams weren't so bad. Maybe they were caused by her slight fever.

She awoke a few more times – once after another strange dream, once when Nessa came in to check on them, and once because Fiyero was moving in his sleep and accidentally hit her in the stomach with his arm. She pinched him for that and he yelped and shot up straight.

"Keep your flailing limbs to yourself," she grunted and he gave her a sheepish grin and a kiss.

"Sorry."

She suspected that he had dreams, too. She watched him for a while after he fell back asleep and she could see him smiling in his sleep, only to have the smile fade away and be replaced by a frown. He muttered something and he moved a lot. She wondered what he was dreaming about. His home in the Vinkus? His time here at the Palace with Glinda? Her? He'd confessed to her, when she'd still been in Southstairs, that he often dreamt about her – usually either about him finally finding her or about him watching her get captured or killed. It was one of the things that greatly contributed to her actually believing him when he told her he loved her. She still couldn't fathom how that was possible or why he ever would, but she'd learnt not to question everything over the years. She'd never find the answers to most of those questions, anyway. She'd rather just enjoy it while it lasted.

When she fell asleep again, she dreamt of Morrible sneaking into the bedroom, grinning maliciously at her as she shot a lightning bolt from her palm. It hit Fiyero in the chest, instantly killing him. Elphaba tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth; and then Morrible advanced on her, grabbed a pillow, and pressed it over Elphaba's face. She thrashed and fought, trying to scream or to break free, but Morrible had an iron grip and the green girl found herself weakening. She fought harder, feeling her fist hitting something solid. She heard a soft "oomph", the sound of a door opening, and then a voice.

"Fiyero! Fabala, stop, it's okay!" Someone shook her shoulder and she blinked, focusing on Nessa's face hanging over her.

She blinked a few more times, trying to wake up fully. "Nessa?"

"It's okay," her sister said again soothingly. "You were just dreaming."

She looked to the side, only to find Fiyero doubled over, groaning softly. "Oz, Fae, you hit harder than most Gale Force soldiers!"

She swallowed. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He took a few deep breaths. "Are _you _okay?"

"Yeah." She had the decency to look sheepish. "It seems you're not the only one doing strange things in your sleep, huh?"

"What were you dreaming about, Fabala?" asked Nessa softly.

"Morrible." Elphaba shivered a little. "I dreamt that she... she killed Fiyero, and then she tried to smother me with a pillow." She looked at her own pillow, which was lying beside her – she had probably pushed it aside in her dream. Had it really been a dream, though? It had felt so real... so much like someone was actually smothering her. Her lungs still burned from lack of oxygen – or maybe that was just the pneumonia Fiyero claimed she was developing.

Fiyero ran his hand over her hair. "Are you okay now?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry for hitting you."

"That's okay." He chuckled, continuing to stroke her hair. "I've been through worse. Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"What time is it?"

They both looked at Nessa, who said, "I think it's about eight o'clock. I was just going to ask for some dinner to be brought up."

Fiyero swore softly. "Eight? And they haven't found Glinda yet?"

Nessa shook her head. "I don't think so, no."

"Then I should go and get her." Fiyero rose, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth it out. "We don't want her to have to spend the night there. It might ruin her gown," he added sarcastically, at which Elphaba elbowed him between the ribs, but she was grinning at the truth of his statement.

"You get some more sleep, Fabala," Nessa advised her sister. "We'll wake you up when Glinda is back, alright?"

Fiyero nodded and left. Nessa left the room as well, locking the door behind her as she went to sit in the parlour again, waiting for news.

Fiyero had only just turned a corner when a guard came rushing towards him. "Captain Tiggular! Oh, thank Oz! You have to come with me!" He grabbed Fiyero's arm. "Captain, the Witch has escaped and Lady Glinda was locked in Southstairs!"

"What?!" Fiyero demanded, pretending to be shocked and angry. "When did you find out?" He was glad someone else had found her instead of him – it would lessen the chances of him being suspected of having to do something with Elphaba's escape.

"Only now, sir," the guard said, "but Lady Glinda says she's been in there for hours already."

Fiyero swore, playing his part well. "That means the Witch could be anywhere! Where is Lady Glinda? Is she alright?"

"Just shocked, Captain," said the guard. "She's been escorted to her rooms and checked over by the palace physician. She requests to be left alone for now."

Fiyero nodded. "Alright. I will check up on her later." He looked at the guard. "Investigate the cell," he ordered. "Send out all men to comb out the City, in case she hasn't made it out yet, and alert the people – tell them to look out for her and let us know if they spot her. Given the fact that she has an advantage of hours, however, I do not think it will be easy to find her again. She could be anywhere." _Like in Nessarose's bedroom. _"I will go see to Lady Glinda now."

"Yes, sir," the man said, saluting before hurrying off. Fiyero went back to Nessa's rooms.

"They found Glin," he said. "I want to move Fae to her rooms now – Glinda's bedroom will be safer for her to stay in then yours. No-one would ever bother Glin if she has requested to be left alone."

Nessa nodded. "Alright. I'll get Fabala."

Once Elphaba was dressed in all black again, every bit of green skin hidden, Nessarose pushed her out of the room and Fiyero walked beside them. The guards outside Glinda's door stopped them.

"Captain," one of them said with a nod.

"I just want to check up on her myself and see if she needs me," he said. "She's my ex-fiancée, after all. She's still my friend."

The man nodded. "What about them?" he asked, indicating Elphaba and Nessa.

"This is Governor Thropp," said Fiyero, pointing at Elphaba, "and Governor Thropp's personal maid. Miss Nessarose Thropp is a dear friend of Lady Glinda's; I thought perhaps she would want to talk to her about what happened."

The other guard nodded, too. "Let me check with Lady Glinda," he said, opening the door and slipping inside. They could hear a murmured conversation and then the door opened again. "Her Goodness would like to see all three of you."

Fiyero thanked him and they went inside, where Glinda was delicately sitting in a chair, looking like she was about to cry. When she saw who came in, however, she smiled brilliantly.

"Oh, good, you're here!" She hugged all three of them and helped unwrap Elphaba. "Every time someone comes in, I have to pretend to be traumatised – it's so tiring! I'm glad to be out of that filthy cell." She shuddered. "Come on, to my bedroom. Elphie, you just go lie in bed and rest – I'm sure you need it. Have you guys eaten yet? No? Nessa, could you please find a maid then and have us brought up some dinner? Fiyero, tell the guards outside that I want all three of you to spend the night here, so they won't be suspicious. I'll go and take care of Elphie." She shooed the two of them away and helped her best friend out of the wheelchair and over to the bed, where she tucked her in like a little child. "Would you like for me to read to you, Elphie?"

"Oh, yes," said Elphaba sarcastically. "Please read me a bedtime story, Glinda. And I want a song. Then you have to bring me some warm milk and my stuffed animal and give me a goodnight kiss, and maybe then I will sleep."

Glinda giggled. "It's good to have you back, Elphie." She kissed her friend's cheek. "Now rest. We'll take care of everything – you don't have to worry now, Elphaba. You're safe here." She smiled and rose to her feet, slipping out of the room to give Elphaba the chance to rest a little. She took a few deep breaths. The worst part was over. For now, all they had to focus on was nursing Elphaba back to health. She tried not to think of the much harder thing that would come after that: getting the green girl out of the Emerald Palace.


	14. Another Plan

**AN: Enter angst.**

**Frostbite: I'm not going to get into the whole Dorothy thing - after all, since Elphaba didn't run off with Fiyero, Glinda wouldn't have tipped Morrible and the Wizard off about getting to Elphaba by going after Nessa... I could still have written Dorothy in, but I didn't really see how that would add to the story.**

**Silvine Fae Graycin: I don't have an iPhone, so also no Siri; but if I did, I probably would do that, too :P.**

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**14\. Another Plan**

Whilst Glinda pretended to be deeply shaken by her experience in the dungeons, claiming to want to talk to no-one but Fiyero and Nessarose, Elphaba slowly recovered. Her wounds healed, her bruises faded, and her fever went down; and she grew a little stronger every day. Unfortunately for her friends, that also meant she grew a little more defiant every day and they had the hardest time keeping her down.

"I have to return to Munchkinland," Nessarose said apologetically one day, about five days after they'd rescued Elphaba from Southstairs. "My people need me. The situation back home has been on the verge of escalating ever since Father died and though I tried my best to restore peace and quiet to the province, that peace is still very fragile. I have to go back before the people start growing dissatisfied again."

Glinda nodded sadly. "I understand. It's a shame you have to leave, though." She sighed. "Honestly, Nessa... I'm worried. Elphie can't stay in here forever. Sooner or later, someone will discover her. I just don't know how to get her out of here."

Fiyero slipped through the door and the girls turned to face him.

"How is she?" asked Glinda.

"According to her? Fine," said Fiyero, amused. "She's currently fighting the medicine I forced into her, because it makes her drowsy and she hates that; but it's a fight she's probably going to lose."

Nessa laughed softly. "Well, good. She needs as much rest as she can get."

"What were you guys talking about?" Fiyero asked as he sank down into a chair, looking tired. He was still not sleeping well and his headache never really disappeared. Sometimes he felt like he was sleeping on his feet. Between Elphaba's nightmares and his own, he never really did get enough rest during the night, but he refused to leave her.

"Smuggling Elphaba out of the Palace," said Glinda with a sigh. "She already had a close call with a maid yesterday while you two were gone." They had recognised the fact that Fiyero and Nessarose staying inside of Glinda's chambers all the time would be suspicious, so the two of them left occasionally. Fiyero tried to act as if nothing was wrong, carrying out his duties, and Nessarose mostly stayed in her rooms, given the fact that she was pretending to be the governor's maid, rather than the governor herself. It was a dangerous game they were playing, they knew. All it took was for someone to recognise Nessa as the real governor, or someone questioning the governor's sudden religious beliefs that required her to hide her skin and hair, and questions would be asked – questions that would not be so easily answered.

To explain Elphaba's continued presence in her room, Glinda had told her maids and guards that she preferred having her dear friend the governor of Munchkinland with her in her rooms at all times because she did not want to be alone after her experience in the dungeons. Luckily, no-one had questioned that; but Glinda could tell that the maids were confused, whispering amongst one another about why none of them was ever allowed into Lady Glinda's bedroom anymore and why no-one had seen Governor Thropp since she had entered Glinda's chambers, over a week ago. Glinda tried the best she could to stop everyone from gossiping and to come up with plausible explanations, but she knew it could not go on this way for much longer.

"Nessa is leaving soon," the blonde continued, "and we need a plan."

Fiyero sat up a little straighter. "What if that _is _the plan?"

Both girls looked at him questioningly.

"Nessa has to leave," said Fiyero. "Nessa, whom everyone thinks is the governor's personal maid. But the governor herself, who is highly religious and thus always clad in black, with nothing visible but her eyes," he hinted, "has to leave, too..."

Glinda sucked in her breath when she realised what he meant. "You want to smuggle Elphaba out of the Palace by pretending she's the governor?! Fiyero, that may have worked on a few guards, but it won't work on everyone!"

"Why not?" Fiyero demanded. "All we have to do is hide Elphaba in those scarves, put her in Nessa's chair, and have Nessa escort her back to Munchkinland. No-one will suspect a thing."

"What about the Munchkin guards who escorted Nessa here?" Glinda demanded. "Don't you think they will ask questions about their governor pretending to be a maid and some unknown person pretending to be the governor?"

"They would," said Nessarose quietly, "but they are loyal to me. If I were to tell them that it was necessary, for example for my own safety, they wouldn't question me. They've already warned me that my safety might be compromised here in the City due to the new policies I have introduced in Munchkinland with regard to the Animals and their rights."

"It's perfect," Fiyero insisted. "And Glinda and I will follow you there once you're well on your way."

"Wait," said Glinda sharply. "What?!"

"I'm not leaving her," Fiyero said as if that much had to be clear. He gazed at Glinda almost accusingly. "Are you?"

"Fiyero..." Glinda's eyes were wide as she took a step back, slowly shaking her head. "I can't... I mean... I can't just leave everything behind and make myself a fugitive!"

Fiyero's eyes narrowed. "_Someone _could."

"And look where that got her!" Glinda cried. "Can you see _me _flying on a broomstick with bullets flying around my ears, Fiyero? Sleeping in forests and fighting Gale Force soldiers? Rescuing Animals, catching pneumonia, and ending up in Southstairs? I wouldn't last a day!"

He had to admit that she was right. He couldn't see her doing any of those things.

"Fiyero," she said, her eyes filled with tears now. "The truth is that... that she is so much stronger than I am. She always has been. I'm not strong, Fiyero. I can't do what she did... what she is doing every day. I can't."

He relented, realising he wasn't being fair. "Glin... you are strong in your own way," he said quietly. "Not in the same way as Fae, but you are strong nonetheless. And thank you for helping her. Us. I guess. And... I really am sorry about the way things went."

Glinda nodded, sniffling. "Me, too," she said. She produced a shaky smile. "But what's done is done, right? We can't change it now. We can only move forward." She took a deep breath. "What will you do, Fiyero?"

He shrugged. "Stay with Fae," he said simply. "Keep her safe."

"I will try to find you two a safe place to stay so that she can properly recover," Nessa said softly, "and so that the two of you can come up with a plan regarding what to do next. Maybe once the Munchkins get used to the Animals and accept the fact that they have been lied to about them, they will also be more open to the idea of the Witch of the West not really being wicked."

Fiyero snorted. "Good luck with that. Munchkins are pretty hard-headed."

"Hey!" said Nessa defensively, not liking the way he talked about her people.

"Sorry, Nessa, but it's true," he said and she grumbled.

"Maybe. But I am the governor," she declared. "My position may be a little precarious now, but it will grow stronger and more secure; and once it does, I will be able to make more changes without losing my people. I'll find a way, Fiyero. Somehow, someday, I will."

"I know." He smiled wearily at her. "But we need a plan until that time."

"Fiyero, you look horrible," said Glinda, frowning slightly. "Perhaps you should go and catch some sleep with Elphie."

He wanted to protest, but he knew they were right – he still wasn't feeling well. He seemed to be sleepwalking again, too; more often than not these days, he awoke in some strange position – on the floor, most often – without him realising what had happened. Elphaba had complained, too, that he was always moving in his sleep and that he sometimes kicked her or nearly crushed her by rolling on top of her. He had no idea what was going on, but he suspected it was just the stress of everything. He couldn't really relax even when he was trying to sleep.

However, the prospect of crawling into a soft, warm bed and falling asleep with Elphaba in his arms was too tempting to resist and so he relented. "Okay. But you have to wake me in time," he warned them. "If I don't show up for tonight's meeting, the other Gale Forcers will be suspicious."

Glinda promised she'd wake him and he slipped back into the blonde's bedroom, changing into something more comfortable. For the time being, Glinda slept on the wide, soft couch in her parlour, claiming Elphaba needed the bed more and Fiyero should stay with her whenever he could, for which they were both grateful.

He cuddled close to Elphaba under the blankets and pulled her to him, burying his nose in her hair. Her eyelids fluttered and she murmured, "Yero?"

"It's me," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Go back to sleep." She always woke up when he joined her. It was only because of the medication she'd taken an hour before that she hadn't woken up the moment he opened the door – she was always on edge, it seemed, always vigilant, even in sleep and even in her current condition.

She sighed and relaxed again, drifting back off to sleep, and Fiyero closed his eyes, intending to join her.

_...Fiyero...hard, stubborn little...let me...stop fighting...kill. Kill, kill, kill...succeed...no fighting me. Kill..._

The next thing he knew, he was on his knees on the bed, his jaw set and the muscles in his arms straining. He was gasping a little and it took him a moment to gather his bearings. Only once he succeeded in doing that did he realise that his hands were closed tightly around Elphaba's throat and that she was not breathing.

* * *

**Stop! Cliffy time! *MC Hammer dance***


	15. A Scare

**AN: I'm glad you all still think I'm living up to my name, heheh.**

**18lzytwner: I'd have loved to see that. I don't think I have ever seen someone cry whilst doing the MC Hammer dance. *cackles***

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**15\. A Scare**

"Fiyero?" Glinda quietly opened the door to her bedroom. "Fiyero, you have to get up or you'll be late for your meeting." She frowned and stepped into the room completely when she saw him, sitting on his knees on the bed. "Fiyero? Are you alright?" He looked positively terrified.

When she placed a hand on his shoulder, he jumped, suddenly shaking himself from his stupor. "Glinda!" he cried. "You have to help her! She... I mean, I..." He was shaking all over and Glinda swore her heart stopped for a moment when she looked past the prince and saw Elphaba lying on the bed on her back with clear finger marks around her throat.

She shoved the prince aside roughly and reached out to feel for a pulse in Elphaba's neck, meanwhile shouting at Fiyero. "What did you _do_?! Fiyero, what in Oz happened? Did you do this? How could you?! We _trusted _you!" She gently shook Elphaba, pulling her a little bit more upright. "Elphaba? Come on, sweetie, wake up," she begged, bringing her ear close to Elphaba's mouth as she tried not to let panic consume her. She had no idea what to do if Elphaba really had stopped breathing.

Suddenly, the green girl inhaled sharply and Glinda nearly burst into tears. Instead, however, she stayed put and murmured quietly, "That's it, Elphie, come on... you're okay." When Fiyero tried to approach them, she stomped him in the chest – hard. "Get away from her!" she hissed venomously.

He looked pale, hurt and fear and confusion all shining through in his eyes. "Glinda..."

"Get out of here," she ordered sharply. "I'll come see you once I make sure Elphaba is okay." She let her friend lean against her. Elphaba was gasping for breath a little, but eventually, she managed to calm herself down. By that time, Fiyero had left the room quietly.

Glinda stroked some raven hair away from her former roommate's face. "Elphie?" she asked softly. "Are you okay?" She lightly touched the marks on Elphaba's throat, wincing at the mere sight of them. Had Fiyero done this? How could he? She didn't understand. If he'd wanted Elphaba dead, why hadn't he done it before? He'd had plenty of opportunities – all he'd have had to do was kill her when she was still in Southstairs and no-one would even have known it was him. Why would he choose to strangle Elphaba when he would be the only suspect? He'd have known he'd be arrested for murder, even if the victim was the Wicked Witch of the West and even under the current circumstances. Torture and murder were forbidden under the Wizard's laws. Fiyero was Captain of the Guard – he knew that. It made no sense.

For now, however, the blonde just focused on Elphaba, who looked just as pale and shaken as Fiyero had.

"Can you tell me what happened, sweetie?" Glinda asked gently and Elphaba looked at her, her dark eyes huge.

"I... I woke up because I couldn't breathe," she croaked. "Fiyero... Yero was sitting next to me with his hands around my throat. I tried to push him away or... or use my magic... but it was like he was made of stone." She shivered. "He didn't move. It was so scary, Glin – he didn't even look like himself anymore. He had this strange, dark look in his eyes, almost absent, as if he wasn't really there..." Tears had started falling down her face without her even realising it and Glinda hugged her, trying to comfort her friend as she frantically thought about this very strange new development.

"It's okay, Elphie," she whispered. "It's okay. Calm down, we'll figure this out." She stroked Elphaba's hair until she had calmed down a little.

"It wasn't him, Glinda," Elphaba whispered finally, hugging herself. "I could see it in his eyes. It wasn't him. It can't have been him."

Glinda sighed. "Elphaba... I know you want to believe that," she said softly. "You love him. I understand that – I do." Not too long ago she herself had loved him, but she wasn't going to dwell on that now. "But perhaps you just need to face the fact that... that maybe he changed." She swallowed. "He's been in the Gale Force for so long, perhaps their way of thinking got to him... it's been _years_, Elphie."

"He joined them to find me," said Elphaba stubbornly. "That's what he said. Because he loves me. And besides – if he wanted to kill me, why did he wait so long to do it? After Morrible tortured me, I was completely helpless. Of course I didn't admit that to him at the time, but he knew. I could hardly stand up straight. If he'd grabbed my pillow and smothered me with it, I would have been too weak to do anything to stop him and he could just have told everyone I died of my injuries in my sleep. No harm done. I don't understand why this is happening _now_."

Glinda, however, was frowning a little. "Elphie... didn't you say that you dreamt, the other day, that you were being smothered by a pillow?"

Elphaba nodded. "Yes. I awoke feeling like I couldn't breathe... oh." Her eyes widened. "Do you think..."

"I think," said Glinda grimly, "that this was not Fiyero's first attempt to murder you, Elphie."

"But... no!" Elphaba shook her head violently. "He would never do that!"

"How well do you really know him, Elphaba?" Glinda pleaded. "_Listen _to me. He may have been a handsome prince you were in love with back at Shiz, but he changed after you left. I have no idea what you've been through since you fled the Wizard's palace. Frankly, I don't think I even _want _to know. But you also don't know what he's been through – neither do I, really. He spent a lot of time alone, or working, often accompanied by other Gale Force soldiers. You thought he had changed for the better, but what if that's not true?"

"It still doesn't make sense," Elphaba insisted and Glinda had to admit that that was true.

She rubbed Elphaba's back. "Why don't you go to sleep now," she suggested. "Or if you can't, at least rest for a while. You were still healing from your injuries and now this... it must take its toll on you. Get some rest and I will do my best to figure out what's wrong with Fiyero. Okay?"

Elphaba was too confused, tired, and sore to protest and so she just muttered, "Okay," and lay back down.

Glinda smiled at her encouragingly. "I won't let anyone disturb you," she promised. "You're still my best friend, Elphie. Despite everything that happened, that never changed and it never will. You will always be that. I just want you to know that you can trust me. We'll figure this out together and I'm going to protect you. I promise."

A part of Elphaba felt grateful for the blonde's friendship and reassured by her words; but another part of her just felt incredibly sad that it had come to the point where her tiny, perky, blonde best friend needed to protect her from the man she had thought to be the love of her life.

"Alright," said Glinda as she locked the bedroom door behind her and glared at the Vinkun prince currently occupying her couch. "Talk."

He was on his feet the moment he'd seen her appear. "Is she okay?" he asked anxiously and when she saw the genuine terror in his eyes, she softened. A little.

"She's fine," she said as she came further into the room. "Just confused. You know, wondering why the man she loves would try to strangle her in her sleep," she added sarcastically. She supposed Elphaba really had rubbed off on her.

Fiyero's shoulders slumped and he sank back down onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. "I... I don't know," he said, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears. "I remember going to sleep beside her, and... and the next thing I know, I'm sitting over her, trying to..." His breath caught in his throat. He couldn't even say it.

Glinda was studying him closely, as if trying to determine whether or not he was telling the truth. He seemed genuine... but if he hadn't done it purposefully, then what else was going on?

"Do you think..." Fiyero hesitated. "Do you think I could have been sleepwalking?"

Glinda looked sceptical. "I've never heard of anyone sleep-strangling other people before," she pointed out and Fiyero flinched.

"I know, but... I have been sleepwalking since I was a little kid. One time in the dungeons, I pinned Elphaba down because I dreamt she was a Gale Force soldier... could it have been something like that? Because I swear to you, Glinda, that I didn't do it. At least not consciously."

Glinda sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I don't know. Is that possible? I've never heard of it before, but maybe that's what's going on." She shook her head. "In any case, you can't stay here."

He looked like she had just kicked him. "What?"

"It's not safe for Elphaba," said Glinda. "You don't want to risk this happening again, do you? You can still visit her, Fiyero. I'm not cutting you off from her. But right now, we are going to keep a close eye on you and I really think it's best if you return to sleep in your own chambers every night from now on – just in case. Besides, that will also arouse less suspicion. This has been going on for a while already and soon people are going to wonder why I keep insisting on having you and Nessa join me in my rooms so often. Nasty rumours could come from that, Fiyero."

He knew that she was right – about everything – but he still didn't like it. However, he also recognised the fact that his main concern was to protect Elphaba. He had only never thought he'd have to protect her from himself. "I see."

Glinda was still watching him attentively, as if waiting for any sign that he might be about to hurt someone again. "I think this entire situation is very strange, Fiyero. Maybe you're right and you're just doing strange things in your sleep due to stress – maybe it's like sleepwalking and it will pass soon... but there's something fishy about all this and I am going to find out what."


	16. A Mystery

**AN: I love reading all your theories.**

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**16\. A Mystery**

Nessarose, too, was shocked by the entire situation – especially when she saw the bruises around her sister's throat. "How could he do such a thing?" she asked in a high voice. "I thought we could trust him!"

Glinda explained her and Fiyero's theories to the younger girl, but Nessa was sceptical. "Sleepwalking? I've never heard of any person sleep-killing someone else."

"He didn't kill me," Elphaba corrected her tiredly from where she was curled up in one of Glinda's armchairs.

"No," said Glinda sarcastically. "He only tried to. Twice."

"Twice?" asked Nessa, eyes wide, and Glinda told her about her suspicion that Fiyero had tried to smother the green girl with a pillow, too, that night she'd dreamt that she couldn't breathe.

Elphaba didn't think she'd ever seen her little sister so angry. "That's it," Nessa declared hotly. "He's not going near you again, Fabala."

"Nessie," Elphaba tried, but the young governor was unrelenting.

"He tried to _kill _you, Elphaba!" she cried. "Twice now! What if he tries again? What if he _succeeds_?!"

"She's right, Elphie," Glinda said softly, but Elphaba shook her head.

"No," she declared. "It's not like that. Something is wrong, Glinda, and I agree that we have to be careful until we know what that is; but pushing him away isn't going to help him. Or us, for that matter."

Glinda sighed. "Elphaba..."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a guard's voice calling, "Prince Fiyero to see you, Milady."

"No," hissed Nessa. "He is not coming in, Glinda. Don't let him –"

"Let him in!" Glinda called back and Nessa glowered at her, clearly fuming.

"Why?!" she demanded.

Glinda looked at her solemnly. "Because I think that no matter what's going on," she said, with a glance in Elphaba's direction, "he really does love her."

He came in then, still looking pale and confused. Elphaba rose to her feet and when he saw her, especially the bruises, he whimpered and looked down in an attempt to hide the tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Fae," he said, his voice sounding choked. He squeezed his eyes shut and he heard Nessa say sharply, "Fabala!"; but apparently that did not keep the green girl from making her way over to him, because the next thing he knew, she was standing next to him. She reached for him, but he stepped away.

"You shouldn't come near me," he muttered, still not meeting her gaze. "It's not safe."

She sighed and dropped her hand, taking a step back. "Glinda says you don't remember doing it."

He remained silent.

"She says it might not have been you. And I think so, too, Yero. What I saw in your face when you tried to strangle me..." She didn't miss the way he flinched at that, but she pressed on. "That wasn't you. Whether you were sleepwalking or something else is going on, I don't know, but we'll figure it out."

He choked on a sob and he heard her mutter, "Oh, to hell with it", before approaching him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Be careful, Elphaba," said Nessa urgently and Glinda's face clearly said that she didn't think this was a good idea, either, but Elphaba ignored them both. She hugged him tightly, pressing her cheek to his chest until she felt him relax a little.

"I'm so sorry," he managed, still trying his hardest to hold back his tears, and she shushed him.

"I know, Yero. I know. It's okay."

"No, it's not," mumbled Glinda, but once again, she was ignored.

Elphaba pulled away to look at him. "We'll figure it out," she said again. "It'll be okay."

He cupped her face and studied her for a long while before whispering, "I'm just so glad you're still alive..."

She laughed softly. "It was your luck that I was asleep, you know. If I'd been awake, I'd have kicked your arse."

Despite everything, that made him grin a little and she kissed him softly before pulling away. Glinda took that as her cue to come closer and say, "That's enough. You should leave, Fiyero."

His face fell and his shoulders slumped, but he nodded and turned around. Glinda, feeling a little bad for him, added, "We'll come find you right away the moment we discover something, okay?"

"Okay," he mumbled before leaving.

Elphaba sighed. "There's no reason for you to treat him so coldly, you know," she said wearily as she returned to her place in the armchair.

Glinda scoffed. "Him trying to kill you is not enough reason to treat him coldly?"

"Let's not get stuck in this discussion again." Nessa took a seat herself. "What are we going to do now?"

"I think you should leave, just like we planned," said Glinda. "Even with everything that is going on, we also need to see the bigger picture. Your people need you. You should leave tomorrow, Nessa, and I will figure out what to do with Fiyero."

Nessa looked hesitant. "Are you sure?"

Glinda nodded. "I can handle it," she assured the younger girl. "And of course I will keep you informed about everything going on."

"Okay." Nessa sighed. "I guess I will leave tomorrow, then. Is Fabala coming with me?"

Glinda hesitated, then nodded again. "That's probably for the best," she said. "You can keep her safe and she'll be away from Fiyero. I won't let him go after her until I know what caused this and solved it. I'm not going to put her in danger, not even for what might be her only chance at love. I'd rather have her alone than dead."

Nessa bit her lip. "Yes, well, with a bit of luck, it's just something silly and you'll know in no time," she said, although she didn't sound convinced. "I guess we'll be leaving tomorrow then, Fabala." She glanced over at her sister, only to find the young witch asleep, curled up in the chair again with her cheek resting on her arm.

Glinda giggled. "I was wondering why she didn't comment on us talking about her like she's not even here."

Nessa laughed. "I'd almost be worried about her sleeping this much, had I not known what she's been through." Her smile faded and she looked at her sister. "I'm glad at least her wounds are healing."

"Her physical ones, anyway," said Glinda softly.

"The others will heal, too." Nessa smiled sadly. "She's strong. She grew a thick skin over the years – even before she defied the Wizard... she can handle a lot. Of course it hurts her, but she's learnt to bend in all directions without breaking."

"That she has," Glinda agreed. She looked at the governor. "Sometimes I wish I was more like her," she confessed. "I mean, I've had such an easy life compared to her... but she's such a better person than any of us could ever hope to be."

"If only she saw that herself." Nessa and Glinda exchanged a smile. They knew they were on the same page when it came to Elphaba. Despite their differences in the past and in the present, they both loved the green girl and they would both be willing to put their lives on the line for her. They already were, by having helped her escape and harbouring her, and they would do it a thousand times over again if they had to.

* * *

"Fiyero." Glinda sighed as she stepped aside to let him in. "You really should stay away for a while, you know."

"I can't," he said simply. He looked miserable, which was the main reason why Glinda let him in in the first place. "I just... I had to see her."

"You were only here a few hours ago," Glinda pointed out patiently.

"You should stay away from her altogether," Nessa said snippily from where she was sitting with her arms crossed. "And for Oz's sake, lower your voice. She just fell asleep again."

Glinda glanced over to the armchair Elphaba had occupied before. She had been awake for a while and Glinda and Nessarose had talked their plans over with the green girl. She had been reluctant to put Nessa in danger by coming with her, but she had eventually agreed. After that, Glinda had dived into her wardrobe to find a dress to wear to dinner – since she figured it would be too suspicious if she remained cooped up in her room all the time – with some help from Nessa, and Elphaba had pulled out one of the books Nessa had brought her from the Emerald Palace library.

Right now, she was asleep in the chair once more, her book having slid down from her lap and landed on the floor. Fiyero couldn't help but smile when he saw the adorable picture she made, but at the same time he felt utterly and completely sad. How could he ever have tried to hurt her? She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and now he was on the verge of losing her all over again... and it would be completely his own fault.

"Shall I take her to your bedroom?" he asked Glinda quietly, who nodded after a brief moment of hesitation. She didn't trust him. He could see it in her eyes and that, too, hurt him. She had every reason not to trust him, but it was painful to look at this girl he had once thought he had loved, this girl who had almost been his fiancée, almost more than that, and see how much she mistrusted him. Because he had hurt her best friend.

He carefully lifted Elphaba out of her chair and she curled into him instinctively, murmuring something in her sleep as he cradled her to his chest. He carried her over to the door to Glinda's bedroom and laid her down gently, covering her with the blanket and pressing a kiss to her forehead. It did not escape his attention that Glinda kept a close eye on him all this time, following him into the bedroom and watching him. It was a painful realisation, he thought, that he now needed to be watched in order to make sure he did not hurt the one thing in his life that he loved most.

He left with slumped shoulders and his head hanging down, not sparing Glinda and Nessarose so much as a goodbye. He turned a corner and decided to move in the direction of the meeting room. Perhaps work would help keep his mind off things for now while Glinda tried to figure everything out.

* * *

**Next chapter has a sort-of cliffy again. Heheh.**


	17. A Betrayal

**Waiting for the votes to be announced at Eurovision Song Contest, so hey, why not update? :P**

**Silvine Fae Graycin, of course you can hug Fiyero.**

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**17\. A Betrayal**

Nessarose had left to go and make the necessary preparations for her journey back to Munchkinland – especially since she were to take her sister with her. Said sister, meanwhile, was bent over some spell books of Glinda's, but she did not have much success.

"I need the Grimmerie for this," she said in frustration, pushing yet another useless book aside. "There's nothing in here that could explain Fiyero's behaviour."

"Maybe the explanation for that is not magical," Glinda began, but Elphaba shushed her with a death glare.

"This is _not _like him," she stressed, "and I _will _find out what's causing this, Glinda." She started flipping through the pages of another spell book.

Glinda looked at her. "Where is the Grimmerie, then?"

Elphaba grumbled. "In Munchkinland." She sighed. "I suppose I'll be able to go through it once Nessa and I are back, but I just... I hate the thought of leaving him here like this," she confessed. "What if he does something stupid? Or worse – what if he does something _bad_? You'll be careful, won't you? I don't want you to take any risks. He could hurt you, too. Until we figure out what's going on..."

Glinda placed a comforting hand on her former roommate's shoulder. "I'll be fine, Elphie. So will Fiyero, so will Nessa, and so will you. Whatever is going on, we'll find a way to make it right. We always do. Okay?"

Elphaba cracked a wry smile. "I love your optimism."

Glinda giggled and tossed her hair. "Yes, well, it is my job to be encouraging and give people hope," she said. "I mean it, though."

Elphaba smiled more genuinely now. "I know you do."

The green girl went back to looking through the remaining spell books and Glinda wandered around the room aimlessly, eventually flopping down on her couch and heaving a sigh. At the desk, Elphaba did the same.

"What if he never goes back to normal?" she asked suddenly.

Glinda froze in the middle of a yawn and closed her mouth, blinking owlishly at her friend. "What? Elphie, what makes you say that? Of course he'll go back to normal!"

"But what if he doesn't?" Elphaba sighed again. "I'd miss him," she confessed. "I... I love him. I never thought I'd be the kind of person to fall in love, let alone to be loved by anyone... but now that it happened, I can't imagine going back to a life without it." She bit her lip.

Glinda felt a little guilty at the slight pang that went through her at Elphaba's words. Even now, it was still difficult for her to accept the fact that Fiyero loved Elphaba and not her. She was happy for her former roommate – she really was... she just wished she had someone like that, too. She'd always thought Fiyero was her soul mate.

She knew she should not think that way, however. There were more important things at stake here than her pride – even more important than her heart – and she had to be supportive for Elphaba, despite the fact that she still felt torn between wanting to kiss Fiyero and wanting to scratch his eyes out half the time she spent with him.

"You won't have to," she said softly. "You'll get it back, Elphie, really."

Elphaba sighed again and bent back over her spell books again. "I hope so."

* * *

Fiyero shook his head. He was trying to pretend that everything was normal, currently working with some fellow Gale Force soldiers on the security of a grand ball the Wizard was planning on hosting in order to distract the people from Morrible's death and the Witch of the West's capture; but the truth was that he did not feel like himself at all. His head was pounding – his headaches had only grown worse over the past few weeks – and he was tired... not to mention the fact that he could not stop thinking about Elphaba. He was immensely relieved that she was relatively alright, but he felt ashamed of himself, and fearful, and confused. What was happening to him? He didn't know, and that was what scared him the most.

"Captain?" a voice asked and someone snapped his fingers in front of Fiyero's face.

"Wake up, Captain! We asked you a question." The soldier eyed Fiyero up and down. "You look horrible, did you know that? Are you getting sick?"

"I don't know." Fiyero rubbed his forehead wearily. "Maybe. I'm not feeling too well, but I can finish this." He glanced back at the plans in front of them. "Okay, I think we should put two men here, two there, and the rest of that unit should patrol the hallways. We'll need patrols for the grounds, too – lots of them."

_...come on...can do this...Fiyero...stop fighting me, Oz dammit! I will...stronger than you...succeed, Prince Fiyero...wait and see..._

He blinked and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "Did you say something?"

The guards all looked at him as if he had gone insane.

"Um... Captain?" one of them said hesitantly. "Maybe you should go lie down for a little while."

The others nodded in agreement and Fiyero's headache had gotten so bad that he didn't even protest. Instead, he nodded faintly. "Come get me if something happens," he instructed them bleakly. "I will just take some medication and sleep for a while and I'll be back again in the morning."

"Sure, Captain," one of the soldiers said. "Feel better soon."

The others muttered similar sentiments and Fiyero retreated to his bedroom, where he flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. As his eyelids started drooping, he could hear that voice again.

_That's it..._ It sounded smug. _Sleep, Prince Fiyero...better...makes me stronger. Don't fight it...all of you, have no doubts...sleep...make sure of it...all die._

That was the last thing he heard before the tendrils of sleep pulled him under.

* * *

Glinda and Nessa both jumped with a startled shriek when the door suddenly swung open and four guards marched in, looking grim. Nessa gave a little cry and Glinda leapt to her feet, her eyes wide.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she cried. "I had asked for privacy!"

"So that you could continue harbouring the Wicked Witch of the West in your bedroom?" one of the guards snarled and Glinda froze.

"That's right, Milady," another guard said. "We know. Our Captain of the Guard told us all about the secrets you've been keeping from everyone."

Glinda's eyes were wide and she remained completely motionless. For a moment, she met Nessarose's panicked eyes and she realised this was really happening. They knew. They'd found out about Elphaba... Fiyero had betrayed them. How could he have done such a thing?

That was not what mattered now, though. What mattered was that Glinda knew what would happen next: she, Nessa, and Elphaba would all be brought down to the dungeons. Elphaba would most likely be put to death – if she survived her stay in the dungeons, that was, because she was still not in the best condition – and Glinda and Nessa would be relieved from their respective positions and locked up for years, or perhaps even banished. Her eyes filled with tears when she realised all was lost.

"Seize them!" the one in charge commanded and Glinda and Nessarose were both grabbed, their arms being twisted behind their back as the two remaining guards strode over to the bedroom door and kicked it down without even bothering to open the lock. Glinda watched numbly as they dragged a dazed and drowsy Elphaba from the blonde's bedroom and the guard in charge ordered for them to be taken down to Southstairs immediately.

"Not Lady Glinda!" he called. "She is asked to come to His Ozness' quarters for interrogation."

Glinda was led out of the room and through the hallway, her head spinning. Fiyero. Fiyero had betrayed them. How could she have been so stupid as to let him go? True, he'd have hurt Elphaba if he'd stayed with her, but they should at least have kept an eye on him!

She swallowed and straightened her back. She'd just have to convince the Wizard that she had no ill intentions. He had always been easier to sway than Madame Morrible and despite everything, he seemed to regret what he'd done to Elphaba, even if he would do it again if he had to. Morrible _liked _hurting other people, but the Wizard didn't. Perhaps Glinda could persuade him – he could make a deal with Elphaba, she could work for him together with Glinda and the Wizard would lift the Animal Banns for her in return... something like that. She hoped that it would work... and she hoped that Elphaba would be okay until it did.

* * *

***cackles***


	18. A Bottle

**AN: Who is still protecting me? Because I think I'm going to need you guys after I post this.**

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**18\. A Bottle**

A soft weeping was the only sound heard in the dungeons of Southstairs. Elphaba pushed herself to her feet, carefully making her way over to the bars and resting her forehead against them. They felt cool against her skin. "Nessa?" She located her sister in a cell across from her and to the right.

The crying stopped and she heard a sniffle. "Fabala?"

"I'm here." Elphaba sank down to the floor, sitting with her back against the bars and leaning her head back against them as well. "I should have known this would happen."

"How would you have known?"

Elphaba barked a bitter laugh. "Because these things always happen when I'm around. You should have left me here, Nessie. You and Glinda and Fiyero... you should just have left me here. Now I'm back down here, anyway, and I dragged you down with me." She sounded sad.

"We knew the risks," Nessa said softly. "We were willing to take them. We just... we thought things would work out, you know? We didn't expect this to happen." She took a shuddering breath. "We didn't expect Fiyero to betray us."

Elphaba didn't say anything. She wanted to defend him, she did; but after everything they'd already seen and the words of the guards... how could she? She still did not believe that the Fiyero she knew would do this, but how well did she really know him? Glinda had been right – she hadn't seen him in such a long time. He could have changed. Although that wouldn't explain that strange look in his eyes, so different from mere hours before...

Perhaps he was going mad. The thought had crossed her mind a few times already, but she hadn't wanted to think about it. It was a possibility, though. Maybe the pressure and stress of everything had just proven to be too much for him to handle and he was slowly starting to go insane. She'd heard stories before about diseases of the mind that caused episodes a person did not even realise happened until they took over the brain completely.

"Don't worry, Nessa," she whispered, suddenly determined. "You'll be alright."

Nessa was still sniffling. "How?"

Elphaba pressed her lips together and raised her chin. "Because I'll tell them I magic-spelled you and Glinda into hiding me in Her Goodness' rooms and helping me heal," she said.

She heard a soft gasp from Nessa's direction. "Fabala –"

"It's the only way," she said. "They're never going to let me go, Nessie. You know that. But they might let _you _go – you and Glinda – if they think you weren't consciously involved in any of it."

Her sister's voice quivered. "I know, but... Fabala..."

"It's okay, my sweet, really. There's nothing we can do about my situation now and I refuse to take you down with me if I can help it. You'll be okay. Try to keep up the work with the Animals, would you, Nessa?"

"Of course." Nessarose heaved a shaky sigh. "Of course. I will. For you. I just wish..."

"I know." Elphaba hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. "Me, too."

"Glinda." Oscar narrowed his eyes at the blonde girl in front of him. "Is it true?"

"Of course it's true," she said fiercely. "What did you think? We are best friends, Your Ozness. She's like a sister to me. Did you really think I was just going to sit back and watch while you all hurt her – or worse? You thought wrong."

Oscar sighed, slumping a little in his seat. "You're right. We always knew you weren't really with us – Madame Morrible and I. I can't blame you. And now Morrible is dead, and... well, to be completely honest, I am not entirely sure what to do. I don't know if I can go through with all this on my own."

"Then don't!" Glinda cried. "You _know _she's not really wicked! Your Ozness, please listen to me!" She looked at him pleadingly. "If you'd just lift the Animal Banns, undo everything that has happened to the Animals," she said softly, "I'm sure Elphie would consider working with you, rather than against you. Think of what all of us could do if we work together! With your political power, her magic, and my... well, charm, I guess... we could do so much good!"

The Wizard sighed again. "I knew you were going to try this." He wearily took a swig out of a small green bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "And I won't say I have not considered it, because –"

"Where did you get that bottle?" Glinda interrupted him sharply, staring at the green thing.

Oscar blinked. "I've had it for years already," he said. "I brought a few of them from my world when I came here and I tried to keep them close to me. Unfortunately, one was lost and another... well, I gave it to the woman I was sure was the love of my life." He chuckled and shook his head. "She was not, of course, but she probably still has the bottle."

"That woman," said Glinda, her voice a little higher than usual. "Was her name Melena?"

The Wizard frowned. "How would you –"

"Because Elphie has a bottle exactly like that one, Your Ozness."

He gaped at her.

"It was given to her by her mother, Melena Thropp, before she died."

Oscar suddenly went very pale. "W-what? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I've lived with Elphaba for a long time, you know. We were roommates and we're best friends – she told me a lot about her life." She frowned at him. "Does that mean... is she..." She shuddered. "Sweet _Oz_. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone unluckier than poor Elphie when it comes to parentage. Well, fathers, anyway."

The Wizard was still too dazed by this new information to feel insulted. "I have a daughter..." he said in wonder.

"No, you don't," Glinda sneered. "I'm sure Elphie will agree with me. After all you've done to her, you have no right to call her your daughter anymore. You're not her father. You're not her family, and neither was Frex. _We _are. Nessa and Fiyero and I – _we _are her family." She did not mention her doubts about Fiyero's loyalty at the moment. That was none of Oscar's business.

"You're right." Oscar still looked unhealthily pale. "Oh, God," he moaned, burying his face in his fingers. "What have I done?"

"Listen," said Glinda, moving a little closer to him – she was almost starting to feel bad for him. Almost. "I know you're not as evil as you pretend to be. Morrible was the evil mastermind – not you. You have a heart." She hoped he had, anyway. "Please... she's your _daughter_. Can't you just end this?" she begged. "It's been going on for long enough already. Don't you think enough people have gotten hurt?"

"How..." His voice was scratchy and he swallowed. "How could I ever..."

"Make it up to her?" Glinda finished for him. "You can't. But you could try to start over. A good beginning would be for you to free her and her sister from the dungeons and start clearing her name." Her heart was pounding in her throat. She hoped this would work. It _had _to work.

"Yes..." Oscar said, dazed. "Yes, of... of course." He cleared his throat and moved behind his mechanical head to call the guards.

"Go down to Southstairs," he commanded them, "and bring up Governor Thropp and the Witch of the West."

"Yes, Your Ozness," they chanted in unison, saluting before leaving the Throne Room. Oscar gave Glinda a weary smile.

"And now we wait."

When the door to the dungeons opened, Elphaba raised her head from her pillow, half fearing they came to drag her off to be tortured again – although, of course, Morrible was gone now and there was no-one else who would dare violate the law like that, not even for the Wicked Witch of the West. When she saw that it was Fiyero, she scrambled to her feet and ran over to the bars, clutching them. "Yero!"

"The gossip about you is getting stronger," he said, his voice monotone. "The people are starting to believe in your innocence."

She could hear Nessarose getting to her feet as well. "Really? That's amazing, Fiyero!"

"We can't have that," he said.

Elphaba stilled, watching his face. It was there again. That strange, absent look in his eyes... she could see it. She swallowed. This was not Fiyero. Not really.

When he produced a gun from the inside pocket of his jacket, she was hardly surprised.

She lifted her chin and met his gaze. "If you came here to shoot me, then just do it."

He laughed hollowly. "You think I'm going to shoot _you_? That would be too easy." He turned and pointed the gun at Nessa.

Elphaba gasped. "No!"

"You can't stop me," he said. "No-one can."

"How will this help with people believing in my innocence?" Elphaba asked quickly, almost desperately. "If you want to prove that I am wicked, then do something else!"

"Think of how it will look," he said softly, "when the guards come down here and they find poor little Nessarose shot to death in her cell, with a gun lying in _your _cell and Prince Fiyero unconscious right in the aisle."

She knew how that would look. It would look like she had somehow overpowered the Captain of the Guard, stolen his gun, and shot the governor of Munchkinland.

"It wouldn't make sense," she said hoarsely. "They'd wonder why I left you alive. You're the one who betrayed us."

Fiyero shrugged. "Does it matter? If I slam my head into the cell bars a few times until I fall unconscious, everyone will assume that was you and trust me, they will not wonder about other things. People believe what they want to believe, Miss Elphaba."

She froze completely, disbelief and realisation dawning in her eyes at the same time.

Fiyero chuckled. "I can see it finally hit you."

"Morrible," she whispered. "But... how..."

"Does it matter?"

Elphaba gritted her teeth. "Let Fiyero go."

The prince – or what looked like the prince, anyway – shook his head. "He makes far too good an instrument, dearie," he said. The word sounded strange, foreign and bone-chilling, from his lips, in that voice she knew so well. "Until now, I could only overpower his mind when he was asleep; but I have been growing stronger, while he has been getting weaker."

"You possessed him." She suddenly couldn't understand why she didn't see it before. She'd known Fiyero hadn't been himself, but she had not expected this... she hadn't realised.

Fiyero turned around and pointed his gun at Nessa once more. "Say goodbye to your little sister, dearie." The younger girl was sobbing, trying to scramble away in a corner, but there was nowhere she could hide. Fiyero grinned at her.

Then he pulled the trigger.


	19. A Mourning

**AN: Sorry, guys! I forgot to update last night and then today the weather was so nice I didn't spend much time behind my laptop. Here it is, though. I doubt you'll be happy now, but still. (And thanks to everyone who is still protecting me.)**

* * *

**19\. A Mourning**

"No!" Elphaba cried, lunging forward and yanking at Fiyero's arm just as he released the shot. The gun was pulled down and the bullet bored harmlessly into the far wall.

Fiyero hissed and hit Elphaba hard in the head with the butt of the gun, making her stumble. Before she could recover, he had already stepped away a little, just out of her reach, and fired another shot.

Nessa's shriek echoed in Elphaba's ears, a sound she was sure she would never forget. She tried to stop Fiyero somehow, calling for her magic; but before anything could happen at all, he'd fired two more shots and she could see Nessa staggering backwards, the dark red blossoming on her chest visible even in the dark, and then she slumped to the floor and did not move again.

The world was spinning around her, her head hurting; but it was nothing like the stab of all-consuming grief and guilt she felt in her heart. "Nessa!" she wailed, the name coming out almost as a howl as Fiyero – Morrible – threw his head back and laughed.

"I win, dearie," he hissed. He moved back to Elphaba's cell, clearly intending to finish the execution of the plan; but just then, the door flew open and guards marched in.

"His Ozness wants to see the Witch and the governor," one of them started to say, but he stopped himself when he took in the scene before him. The Captain of the Guard, blinking owlishly before scowling in dismay, muttering things under his breath. The Wicked Witch of the West, curled into herself on the floor and sobbing.

The governor of Munchkinland, lying dead in a pool of her own blood.

"It was her!" Fiyero cried, pointing at Elphaba's cell. "It was the Witch!"

The Gale Force soldiers all looked at Elphaba in unison and then back at Fiyero, who was still holding the gun in his hand. He cursed and dropped the weapon, but by then it was already too late.

"Seize him," the leader of the group said calmly. "Take him upstairs and confine him. Do not let him go under any circumstances. He will be brought before His Ozness for interrogation right after the Wizard is finished talking to the Witch."

Some of the guards grabbed Fiyero and dragged him with them through the aisle. A few others came into Elphaba's cell, helping her up with surprising gentleness and leading her out of her cell. The remaining guards stayed behind to tend to Nessarose's body.

Elphaba could not stop trembling, nor could she stop the flow of tears that kept running down her cheeks. Nessa was gone. Her little sister, the only real family she had left, was dead... killed by the man she loved.

_No_, she corrected herself instantly in her mind. _Not by him. By Morrible._ It was too much to grasp at the moment. Nessarose was dead and Fiyero was possessed by Morrible's ghost. It felt like she was trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up no matter how hard she tried.

Even when she was brought into the Throne Room, she did not look up. She heard a gasp and then saw a flurry of skirts leaping her way from the corners of her eyes. Glinda was briefly stopped by the guards holding her friend, but when Oscar gave them a signal, they let her go and Glinda grabbed Elphaba's shoulders.

"Elphie," she whispered. "What happened?"

She shook her head, unable to speak, and Glinda pulled her into a tight hug. She stroked Elphaba's hair and whispered reassurances in her ear as the Wizard dismissed the guards that had brought the young witch before appearing from behind his mechanical head, looking confused.

"Elphaba," he said, but she didn't even look up. She just buried her face in Glinda's shoulder.

"What happened, Elphie?" Glinda asked again, gently. Before Elphaba could even reply, however, the doors to the Throne Room flew open again and Fiyero came storming in, followed by a couple of Gale Force soldiers who were trying to hold him back. His eye fell on Elphaba and he flinched visibly, a pained look in his eyes.

"Fae," he whispered. "Please, I... I'm so sorry. It wasn't me, Fae, I swear, I just..."

"Go away," she choked out, even as the guards were trying to pull him back, but he resisted them.

"Fae, please," he begged, yanking himself free and approaching her, but she shook her head.

"I know it wasn't you," she said, her voice shaking as badly as the rest of her, "but I still just..." She choked on a sob. "I can't look at you right now."

His shoulders slumped and he nodded. "I understand. Elphaba... I'm so, so sorry," he said, a catch in his voice, before he turned around and, hanging his head, allowed the guards to escort him out of the room again. Elphaba once more collapsed in Glinda's arms, sobbing her heart out.

Glinda had frozen, her arms closed around her former roommate. "What's going on?" she whispered.

One of the guards who was still lingering in the doorway glanced back at her over his shoulder. "Governor Thropp is dead, Your Goodness," he said, a hint of sympathy in his voice. "She was murdered by our Captain of the Guard."

That sent icy cold chills down Glinda's spine and she watched, dumbfounded, as the guard left and closed the door behind him, leaving them alone once more. Elphaba's sobs had grown even more violent at the guard's words and Glinda squeezed her tightly, tears welling in her own eyes as well. Nessa... killed by Fiyero. She couldn't believe it.

"Elphie," she whispered, but Elphaba shook her head.

"Please don't."

"Okay. I won't." The blonde did not say anything else. Instead she just held her friend, keeping her locked in a hug until she could feel her calm down. A little, anyway.

Oscar remained quiet through all of this, simply watching the two friends, not wanting to intrude. When Elphaba finally pulled away from Glinda, she couldn't look at her or at the Wizard; instead she focused on a spot on the floor, wrapping her arms around herself as she tried to slow her breathing and stop her shaking.

"It's Morrible," she finally said, her voice barely audible.

Oscar looked confused and Glinda alarmed. "What do you mean, Elphie?"

"What's wrong with... with Fiyero." Her voice caught. "It's Morrible. She can... she can possess him. That's why he tried to kill me, that's why he betrayed us, and that's why he..." She faltered and did not finish her sentence, but Glinda and Oscar both knew what she meant. Why he had killed Nessa.

Glinda sucked in her breath. "Sweet Oz..."

Oscar looked pale and completely dumbstruck. "She... she can do that?"

"She was powerful," said Glinda. "We always knew she was, but... or, well, she _is_, probably. But I never expected this..."

"We should have," whispered Elphaba. "We should have expected it. We should have seen it sooner. If we had, this... this might not have happened." Her eyes filled with tears again and Glinda went back to hugging her. She didn't think she'd ever seen Elphaba like this. Then again, she couldn't even imagine what it must be like to lose the only family member you have left – the little sister you love to death and have been taking care of your entire life.

"Elphaba," the Wizard said quietly and she looked up at him. For a moment, he saw the old fire flaring up in her eyes; but then it disappeared again and she averted her gaze, her shoulders slumping.

"I know why I'm here," she said tiredly. "Just kill me and get it over with."

Oscar paused for a moment, shocked, before shaking his head. "That's not why you're here, Elphaba," he said. "You're here because Glinda came to talk to me about a possible deal you and I could strike... and because of a discovery we made only just now."

"Don't," Glinda said sharply.

He looked at her, surprised. "What?"

"Not now," said Glinda, her voice firm. "You can't drop this on her now. For Oz's sake, have you looked at her?! She's had enough for today! I request you give me permission to take Elphaba back to my quarters, Your Ozness, and allow me to take care of her." She raised her chin. "We will talk in the morning. No sooner."

He glanced at Elphaba, who still did not at all look like herself, and he nodded. "I agree. I will have you two escorted back to your room and of course your chambers will be guarded. Elphaba..."

She raised her gaze to meet his and he swallowed. "I... I'm very sorry for your loss."

Something flickered in her eyes and the next thing he knew, she'd launched herself at him, screaming as she tried to claw his eyes out.

"It's your fault!" she yelled at him even as he tried to push her away and Glinda leapt forward to pull her off Oscar. "It's your fault all of this happened in the first place! Yours and Morrible's, and I will _never _forgive you for what you did!"

Glinda yanked her back and she stopped fighting, standing still and breathing deeply. Glinda quickly moved between the two of them and said apologetically, "She's upset, Your Ozness, please..." Elphaba opened her mouth to protest, but Glinda slapped a hand over her friend's mouth to keep her from doing so and looked imploringly up at Oscar.

He nodded, dazed. "I know. It's alright." He waved them off faintly. "You two just... go. I'll send for you both in the morning."

"Thank you," said Glinda, curtseying, before putting an arm around Elphaba's shoulders and leading her friend out of the Throne Room.


	20. A Revelation

**AN: *comes out of hiding just long enough to post this chapter***

* * *

**20\. A Revelation**

By the time the next morning rolled around, Elphaba was still not herself; but she was composed enough to face the Wizard and hear what he had to say. Glinda tried to talk to her, but she refused.

"Elphie," the blonde said pleadingly, even as they were escorted to the Throne Room by two of the Wizard's guards. "Please. You know you can talk to me. It's not healthy to keep it all bottled up inside... it's okay to grieve."

Elphaba shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Glinda pushed and Elphaba spun to face her.

"Because," she snapped, "if I don't push it away, I'm going to end up curling into a ball and bawling my eyes out for the next couple of days and _we don't have time for that_. I know you're only trying to help, but I can't do this right now. There are more important things going on – my grief can wait. Please, just... just leave me be."

Glinda kept quiet after that and neither girl said anything as they were led into the Throne Room and left alone with Oscar, who soon appeared from behind his mechanical head.

"Elphaba," he said with a nod when he saw her. "How are you?"

She gritted her teeth. "I think this would be a lot easier if we skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point, Your Ozness."

He nodded. "Fair enough. And please, call me Oscar," he said, making a gesture that was clearly an invitation for them to sit. Glinda plopped down into the chair he offered. Elphaba remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face.

"What do you want with me?" she asked gruffly. "If you don't intend to kill or torture me, then why am I here?"

"Because Glinda and I discovered something yesterday," he said, meeting her gaze. She raised one eyebrow and he pulled out his own green glass bottle.

Her eyes instantly narrowed. "Where did you get that? That's mine!"

"It's not." He exchanged a look with Glinda and cleared his throat. "This one is mine, actually." He explained to her what he had told Glinda the day before and when he was finished, Elphaba stared at him for a while before turning to her blonde friend.

"It's true, Elphie," said Glinda softly. "Oscar is your father. I'm sorry."

Oscar cringed a little at that. He'd always dreamt of having a child of his own, but he had never imagined it to be like this. He knew Glinda was right, though. Elphaba wasn't lucky to have him as her father. Quite the contrary.

"Fine," the green girl said flatly. "Great. What does it even matter? Whether Frex is my father or you are – neither of you have been very good at it. I'm just trading one terrible father for the other."

"Elphaba," he tried, but she shook her head.

"Don't start talking to me like that," she warned him. "You made me a fugitive. You tried to kill me. You kept me in the dungeons. Don't start treating me differently because you found out that I am actually your daughter. It shouldn't have to matter. It remains a fact that you took a young and slightly naive girl with big dreams about the world and you tried to use her for your own dark purposes. When that didn't work, you crushed her."

He lowered his gaze.

"It doesn't matter who that girl was," said Elphaba quietly. "It doesn't matter if she was your daughter, Queen Ozma herself, or just an orphan from some far corner of Oz. No matter who that girl was, what you did was wrong and who says you won't just do it again? You found out I'm your daughter. _Wonderful_." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "So now you're going to treat me like a princess and find some other hopeful and talented girl to carry out your evil plans for you? Are you going to take a different university student now and declare her the Wicked Witch of the South if she doesn't cooperate?"

He sighed. "Elphaba... I know I made mistakes. I do. I've messed up badly, but I know now that I was wrong and I promise you that I will not do anything like it ever again. Tell me what I have to do for you to forgive me and I will do it. I've always wanted a daughter, Elphaba," he pleaded. "I am so incredibly sorry for what I did to you, but... can't we just start over?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Can we? In my experience, such a thing does not exist, but you're welcome to try." She glared at him. "After, of course, you retract the Animal Banns, re-integrate the Animals into society, and do everything in your power to help them get back to the way they were. You'll need to free every single one of them that is in captivity and invest a lot of time and money into teaching them how to speak again. You'd also have to clear my name somehow. Then, and _only _then, I might consider attempting to start over with you. Are you willing to do all that for me, _Father_?"

"All that and more," he said instantly, much to her surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to agree.

"Show me," she said curtly, turning around on her heels. "For now, I have other things to worry about – such as Fiyero being possessed by Morrible's spirit. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go and fetch the Grimmerie."

"Where is it?" Oscar asked and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not here," was all she said. "If I leave now, I could be back by morning."

He nodded. "Do whatever you must, Elphaba. You're free now. I will have a room made ready for you here in the Emerald Palace and I will start the process of clearing your name right away. You have my word."

She gave him a searching look before nodding. "Where is Fiyero?"

"We have a cell that is reserved for high officials," Oscar said. "It's secure, but it also has comforts such as an adjoining bathroom, a twin bed, a desk, and a fireplace. I had him locked away there."

She nodded. "That will do. Keep him there until I get back. I do want to see him before I go, though."

"I will make the arrangements," he promised.

Elphaba nodded again and turned around, moving towards the door with Glinda on her heels.

"Elphie," she squeaked. "Where are you going?"

"Munchkinland," said Elphaba, the small hitch in her breath the only indication of the hurt she must be feeling.

Glinda placed a hand on her friend's arm. "Is that such a good idea?" she asked gently. "Going back there after what happened..."

"The Grimmerie is there, Glin," said Elphaba. "I have to. I'll be back soon."

"Don't you want me to come with you? Because I will, if you want me to," Glinda began, but the dark-haired witch shook her head.

"I need you to stay here," she said, looking into the blonde's eyes. "Keep an eye on Oscar for me... and on Fiyero."

Glinda grimaced. "What if he tries something again?"

Elphaba stopped walking and bit her lip. "That's what the cell is for."

Her friend's eyes widened. "You're really going to keep him locked up?"

"What other choice do I have?" Elphaba snapped. "He's dangerous as long as Morrible is still controlling him. For all we know, he might try to shoot you while I am away! He has to be locked up safely until I find a way to reverse this whole thing!"

"Okay," Glinda whispered. "You're right."

"I'm going to find him," the young witch said. "Could you pack me some things to bring with me to Munchkinland, just in case?"

"Of course. I'm on it." Glinda left and Elphaba took a deep breath, then headed in the direction of the room she knew Fiyero to be confined to.

She was a little taken aback to find that the guards at the door had already received orders from the Wizard that she was to be allowed into the room – she kept on being surprised by how quickly Oscar got things done around here. She entered, only to find Fiyero sitting in the window sill at the far end of the room.

When he heard her come in, he turned his head; but when he saw it was her, he averted his gaze, shifting a little.

Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "I'm going to Munchkinland to get the Grimmerie. I'm going to find a way to get you back to normal."

He looked at her. "You should just lock me in the dungeons," he mumbled. "After what I did..."

"That wasn't you."

He shrugged. "Still."

She sighed and sank down on the edge of the bed, watching him tiredly. "It wasn't your fault, you know. I don't blame you for it, so you shouldn't blame yourself. It was Morrible. Not you. I'm going to find a way to fix this, Yero, I promise."

He met her gaze for a brief moment before looking away again. "Will you ever be able to look at me the same way again?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she said fiercely and without a moment's hesitation, which caused his gaze to snap back up to hers.

"Perhaps not right away," she acknowledged. "I guess I might... need some time." She sighed again. "But I love you, and all of this does not change that."

He was still staring at her and she could see a spark of hope in his eyes, which made her sad. "For Oz's sake, Fiyero, did you really think I'd blame you?"

"I don't know." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Fae... I love you, too. You're the most amazing person I have ever met and you have a bigger heart than anyone I know, but even you have limits. I guess I just... thought that, you know, what I did... exceeded those limits."

"It would have if it had been a conscious decision on your part," she said. "But it wasn't. We'll be okay, Yero. I am going to keep you locked up in here until I get back with the Grimmerie, though. For your own safety as well as other people's."

He nodded. "Of course."

She gave him a shaky smile. He hesitated for a moment before asking uncertainly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said, her voice sharp. "Don't."

He nodded again in understanding. "I won't."

She marvelled once again at how well he seemed to know her, even though they had been apart for such a long time and never been more than friends before this entire mess had started. He was one of the very few people in her life who seemed to be able to see right through her and straight into her soul, which was a terrifying, yet also comforting idea. She wasn't alone. No matter what happened, she would never be alone. She had Glinda and Fiyero to pull her through. Even losing her little sister, no matter how much it hurt, would not be her breaking point; and even Morrible's ghost possessing Fiyero was something that could be fixed. Yet another hurdle in her life. It felt sometimes like her entire life was one giant hurdle, but she knew what she was doing it for. She was doing it for all those times Glinda made her laugh so hard her stomach hurt; for the look in Fiyero's eyes when he held her; even for Nessarose, because she knew now that her little sister had loved her and wanted her to be happy.

"Fae?" he asked softly, but it wasn't until she felt a tear drip onto her hand that she realised she was crying. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks.

"I'm fine."

He shook his head and hesitated only a moment before rising to his feet and making his way over to her, sitting down on the bed next to her and pulling her into his arms. She tried to resist, knowing that if she broke down now, she wouldn't be able to stop; but with his arms around her, enveloping her with his comforting warmth, she just couldn't help herself. The tears started pouring out and he held her, resting his chin on the top of her head as she clung to him like she was never going to let him go again.

She knew, rationally, that Morrible could take him over at any moment and try to kill her. She knew she had to get out of here and go to Munchkinland as soon as possible to fix this. Just for a while, however, she allowed herself to be weak. Just a few minutes and then she would be strong again.


	21. Another Escape

**AN: Again, thank you all so much for your lovely reviews! :) (And in some cases *looks at PerlogAnnwyl* thanks for buying my book, too! :D)**

**Again, if any of you would be willing to help promote my book by sharing the link (amzn dot com / 1508935874****) on your social media, it would be very much appreciated! :)**

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**21\. Another Escape**

It took her the better part of the day to reach Munchkinland. It was painful, seeing the Governor's mansion from the sky. It was even more painful to enter it through an open window and to walk around inside.

She was careful to evade the maids and servants roaming the house as she made her way to her old room, where she had slept whilst she had been staying with Nessa. She dug into the wardrobe and found the Grimmerie in a satchel at the bottom, where she had left it. She had hesitated a long time before deciding that she was going to free those Monkeys without the Grimmerie. Now, she was grateful she had left it here. If she'd had it with her, Morrible would have gotten her hands on it when the green girl had been captured and they would probably all be dead by now.

She made quick work of smuggling the book outside with her, hanging the satchel around her shoulder and mounting her broom again. Before she could kick off, however, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Elphaba!"

It was only the fact that this person knew her real name that kept her from shooting up into the sky. There weren't many Munchkins who knew her real name and would call out to her, rather than scream and hide or run inside to grab a pitchfork.

She glanced over her shoulder, only to find Boq tentatively moving in her direction.

"Stay away from me," he warned her. "I just want to ask you something, but don't come any closer."

"You're the one approaching _me_," she pointed out and he faltered when he realised that was true.

"Besides," she added, "it's just me, Boq. I would never hurt you."

He snorted. "You're the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Yes, well, you shouldn't believe everything people say," she snapped, making him recoil. "Now were you going to ask me anything or will you just let me leave?"

He fidgeted. "Where's Nessa?"

She froze, slowly moving off her broom and standing beside it, clutching it so hard that her knuckles went white. "Nessa?"

"I heard she changed everything," he said softly, "and after a while I decided to... to come back here. To talk to her. I do care about her, you know. I always have. I could never love her in the way she wanted me to, but I wanted to make things right with her nonetheless."

She bit her lip, forcing herself to keep breathing normally. "Oh, Boq..."

"What?" His voice became higher. "Why are you saying it like that? Why are you looking like that? Elphaba? What happened to her?"

She took a deep breath. Then she looked the Munchkin straight in the eyes.

"She's gone, Boq," she said softly. "Nessa is gone."

"Gone?" He gaped at her. "What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean she's _dead_, okay?" she snapped at him, suddenly losing her temper. "Dead! Shot dead in the Emerald City right in front of me and I could not help her because I was locked up in a different cell! She's _dead_, you stupid Munchkin! Nessa is dead because I couldn't save her!"

Despite her resolve to be strong, she crumbled. Sobs racked her body and she pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm herself down, but she couldn't. That was what it all came down to in her head, after all. Her little sister was dead because Elphaba hadn't been able to help her. "I couldn't save her..."

Boq took another tentative step in her direction. "Elphaba –"

"No." She shook her head violently. "Don't. All you need to know is that she's gone, Boq." She took a deep, shaky breath. "She didn't blame you for leaving, she..." She wiped her face with the sleeve of her dress. "She understood. It was what made her change her ways, actually. She understood why she left and she knew you still cared about her. I guess that's... all you need to know."

He nodded, looking pale and horrified, and she mounted her broom and kicked off without another word. She didn't know what else to say to him and she didn't want to hear his empty words of comfort.

By then it had grown rather dark, which made it easier for her to stay hidden on her way back to the Emerald City. She used the long, dark hours of flying to ponder the question what they would do once she got back in order to pass the time and keep her mind off Nessa and sombre thoughts about Fiyero. She'd bring the Grimmerie to the palace and search for a spell to cast on Fiyero that would exorcise Morrible from his body. If everything went according to plan, Morrible would be gone, Fiyero would be back to normal, and everything would be right again. She hoped the Wizard would keep his word and clear her name, but she wasn't sure she could see that happening. She'd think about that later, though.

She could see the Emerald City and she steered the broom towards it, approaching the bright green walls. She carefully steered around the palace to avoid being spotted and descended towards the gardens, where she wouldn't be seen by any of the staff as she landed.

That was when the shot rang out.

It seemed to happen so slowly. She heard the sound of a rifle being fired and she located the source, standing in the gardens of the Emerald Palace below her. Her eyes locked with Fiyero's, but they weren't really his eyes. She knew Morrible was looking out from behind them. She had no idea how he had escaped his prison, but it was obvious that he had, somehow.

Only then did she register the pain in her abdomen.

Before she could do anything, however, he'd shot again, pain exploding in her leg. She lost control over her broom and clung to it as it went down, eventually losing her balance and toppling off. She hit the ground hard, pain shooting through her entire body. She vaguely registered the blood dripping from her wounds and into the grass, but she was too weak and too far gone already to do anything about it. By then she was losing consciousness and she was hardly aware of anything at all. She could hear footsteps and the last thing she saw before everything went black was Fiyero's face floating above her own.

* * *

_...kill...Fiyero...have to escape...now...kill...shoot...she's returning...go. Kill her, Fiyero..._

No. He shook his head, as if he could get Morrible out of it that way. He wasn't going to give in to her. He wasn't.

_Take your rifle_, she whispered in his head. _Take it. Escape...out of this room...do it, Fiyero...can do it...take your rifle and shoot her._

He was horrified at what she was implying, although perhaps he shouldn't be. Morrible had killed Nessa, after all. Now that Elphaba was working with the Wizard and Fiyero himself was locked up, Morrible's plans were starting to fall apart. She probably wanted him to kill Elphaba now in an attempt to get her plans back on track. It would be the ultimate revenge for her, too.

He fought her, but she was stronger than he was.

He wasn't aware of kicking down the door and taking out the two guards outside his room. He didn't know he stalked through the hallways and fetched his rifle from a room downstairs. He never moved outside into the gardens and pointed his rifle at the approaching figure on the broomstick, flying down towards the palace in the dark. He didn't pull the trigger, either – Morrible did all that. Fiyero himself wasn't aware of anything until he suddenly found himself leaning over Elphaba, shock penetrating Morrible's hold over him when he looked into the eyes of the girl he loved, only to find her severely hurt and bleeding.

He was too much in shock to even scream. He fell down on his knees next to her, frantically searching her and sucking in his breath sharply when he saw the bullet wounds. She followed his movements with foggy and slightly glazed-over eyes and he gingerly cradled her in his arms, very carefully lifting her and holding her against him. She whimpered in pain and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to convince himself that this was a dream; but when he opened his eyes, she was still there. And she was bleeding out. He had to do something.

"You'll be okay," he whispered to her, his throat clogged with tears and his voice raw and shaky. He kept on repeating that to her as he carried her inside as quickly as he could without hurting her too much. It almost felt like maybe if he kept on saying she'd be okay, he could make it true somehow.

He ran into the Palace shouting for help and before he knew it, she had been taken from him and was raced down to the palace infirmary. He wasn't allowed inside and all he could do was stand in front of the closed doors, staring at them as if he would be able to see through them if only he looked long enough.

It didn't matter that it hadn't been him who shot her. It didn't matter that Morrible was stronger and that it wasn't his fault that she had taken him over. He knew that if Elphaba died, he would never, _ever _be able to forgive himself.

* * *

**Yeah. That was like, "Aww, you're all so nice, with your reviews and your book buying/promotion, here, let me reward you with a cliffy!". Sorry about that. Or not. #sorrynotsorry *cackles***


	22. A Spell

**AN: I love how some of you started yelling at me in different languages. Obviously I understood the Dutch one - and thanks to my having been practising my Spanish a bit more, I understood yours without Google Translate, too, Moreanswers24 :P.**

**And yes. I did that. Don't worry, though - no cliffy this time.**

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**22\. A Spell**

When Elphaba opened her eyes, the first thing she became aware of was pain, searing all through her body, and she gasped.

A nurse appeared in her line of sight. "Careful." She was obviously wary of the green woman, but she managed to stay professional as she took Elphaba's pulse and temperature and lifted the sheets to look at her wounds.

"You've been very lucky," the nurse said. "That bullet in your leg almost nicked your artery. If it had, you'd have bled out. As it was, you were brought in just in time – you lost a lot of blood and the doctor had to operate immediately. You've been unconscious for two days." She checked some other things, moving around Elphaba, and the young witch closed her eyes again. All the movement was making her feel nauseous.

"You're not allowed to sit up," the nurse told her, causing her to open her eyes again. "I'd advise you to not talk and to rest a lot, but Lady Glinda already told me that that is most likely not going to happen."

Elphaba smirked slightly and the nurse gave her a hesitant smile. "Would you like to see her? Lady Glinda, I mean?"

The green girl nodded and the nurse left, only to return a short while later with a frantic blonde on her heels.

"Elphaba Melena Thropp!" Glinda shrieked as she launched herself at Elphaba's bedside and gingerly hugged her friend. "You're going to give me premature grey hairs! Don't you dare ever scare me like that again!"

"Your Goodness," the nurse said in a disapproving tone of voice. "We have patients here who are trying to recover. I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down."

Glinda waved her away. "Right, right. Sorry." She turned wide eyes on Elphaba. "I was talking to the Wizard about his clearing your name when a guard came in to tell us you'd been shot. Sweet Oz, I nearly got a heart attack!" She placed a cool hand on Elphaba's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Just peachy," Elphaba croaked and Glinda giggled.

"It's good to see you're still you." She sat down on a chair beside the bed and looked at Elphaba solemnly. "It was Fiyero, wasn't it? Or, well... Morrible."

Elphaba nodded and Glinda sighed.

"We locked him in Southstairs," she said, regret audible in her voice. "We didn't want to, but he already proved that the guarded room upstairs just wasn't enough to keep him confined. The Wizard thinks that Morrible is able to channel some of her power into Fiyero as well, which would explain why he was strong enough to break down the door and take out the men guarding him. We put him in your old cell now, all the way in the back, and very heavily guarded."

Elphaba started struggling to sit up and the nurse hurried back, frowning. "Miss Elphaba, I thought I told you –"

"Either you help me up," Elphaba interrupted her, her voice hoarse but determined, "or you stand there and watch me get up by myself, which will probably be a lot worse for my stitches."

"Or," the nurses said snippily, "I could just sedate you until your wounds have healed enough for you to be up and about at all!"

Elphaba blinked at her, taken aback; and Glinda hid a smile.

"I need to see him," the dark-haired witch insisted almost desperately and Glinda looked at her with sympathy in her blue eyes.

"Elphie," she said, "you can't. Not now. Stay down and let your wounds heal – _please_. I'll go tell him that you're okay."

"It's not enough."

"Is it ever?" Glinda shook her head. "Look, why don't you just worry about getting better and then I will worry about Fiyero."

"No." Elphaba looked at the blonde. "Don't go too close to him," she warned her friend. "Glin, I could never forgive myself if he hurt you as well." Her breath caught in her throat when she remembered Nessarose and Glinda softened, probably seeing the look in her friend's eyes.

She bent over and hugged Elphaba again. "I'm so sorry, Elphie," she whispered. "About everything. But we will make things right again for as far as we can. Together we're the greatest team there's ever been, right?" She laughed softly and kissed Elphaba's cheek. "I promise you we can figure this out. Together."

Elphaba nodded. "Okay." She bit her lip. "Where is the Grimmerie?"

"No," said Glinda sternly. "You're not going to do any spells right now, Elphie. You're not even going to _read _about any spells right now."

"If I'm going to have to stay down and lie here for days, anyway," Elphaba said crossly, "I might as well use that time to find a spell to get Morrible out of Fiyero."

Glinda sighed, relenting. "Fine. I'll bring it down here for you... but only if you rest first." With that and a small wave, she left.

* * *

True to her word, Glinda brought the Grimmerie down for Elphaba to read and the green girl spent all her waking hours going through it, hoping to find a spell that would help her with Fiyero. Meanwhile, Glinda divided her time between plotting with the Wizard – he had started the very slow and long process of clearing Elphaba's name and she was helping him with that – and sitting with Fiyero in the dungeons. She'd brought him blankets, food, even books to amuse himself with; and she always stayed with him for a while, talking.

When she'd told him that Elphaba was awake and would recover, the relief and hope in his eyes broke her heart.

"The moment I told her about you being down here, she wanted to come and see you," she told him. "We didn't let her, of course, but she'll be here as soon as possible. She's already searching the Grimmerie for a spell to help you."

"Do you think there is one?" he asked quietly.

Glinda hesitated for a moment, but she decided to give him the honest answer. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "But if there is, I believe that Elphaba would be your best bet on finding it."

He nodded, but she could tell that he was not very hopeful.

She visited Elphaba a lot, too. The young witch was healing relatively quickly – thanks to some very dedicated nurses and doctors, who not only took care of Elphaba the best they could, but also made sure she stayed in bed and rested – and Glinda often sat by her bedside for hours as the two girls discussed theories and spells that might help Fiyero. Elphaba found several different spells that came close to what they were searching for, but she explained that she needed a very specific spell to drive Morrible's spirit from Fiyero or things could go very wrong.

"It's a precarious situation, Glin," she said, shaking her head. "If I don't use the right spell, I could trap Morrible inside of him forever. I could kill Fiyero instead of Morrible... or worse – I could drive _Fiyero's _spirit out of his body, leaving his spirit to roam Oz for all eternity while Morrible occupies his body."

Glinda shuddered.

Her friend sighed and closed the book. "I will find something," she swore, seemingly more to herself than to Glinda.

The blonde placed a hand on Elphaba's and squeezed softly. "I know you will."

And so Glinda went on – trying to control the Wizard, comfort Fiyero, and help Elphaba all at the same time, and that in between her regular duties. She would talk the plan through with Oscar, appear on her balcony for a speech five minutes after leaving the Throne Room, and then make her way down to the infirmary the moment her speech was done. She brought piles of papers she needed to sign down to the dungeons so that she could keep Fiyero company while she worked.

Sometimes Morrible came into him and his eyes would turn, as Glinda thought of it, "creepy". He would stare at her without interruption, sometimes talking to himself or to her. He sometimes tried to escape, too. She never stayed long when he became like that – she came down there to be with Fiyero, after all, not Morrible. When she returned and he was back to normal, he always apologised to her and she always waved him away. It wasn't his fault. He had to stop apologising for things he couldn't change anything about.

Once, about five days after Elphaba had woken up, the blonde approached her friend's bed only to find her curled up in her side with her face buried in her pillow, her shoulders shaking with silent, but violent sobs. Glinda kicked off her shoes and lay behind the raven-haired witch, gingerly wrapping her arms around her and hugging her without saying a word as she cried. When Elphaba eventually calmed down, Glinda pulled away, but she still didn't say anything and neither did the green girl. Glinda knew her well enough to realise that Elphaba hated crying in front of other people and that she probably wouldn't want to talk about it; and Elphaba was grateful for that.

She was struggling more than she let on and she suspected Glinda knew that. She was continuously trying to keep herself together, to push her feelings regarding everything that had happened and was still happening away, but every now and then they came to the surface. Sometimes she was flipping through the Grimmerie and she couldn't help but think of the look on Fiyero's face when he had been trying to strangle her... when he had shot her. And then she remembered the change in his eyes when he had realised what he had done and it made her shiver. She felt horrible for him. She couldn't even imagine what it was like to not have control over your own mind and body at times.

And then there were the times, usually when she was lying awake in bed at night, when the realisation suddenly hit her again that her little sister was dead. Those nights, she could not help but cry despite her firm resolve not to. Thoughts of Nessa invaded her mind and she re-lived all the memories of her reading to her little sister, building a snowman for her, taking care of her, and causing magical explosions over her. She remembered bringing Nessa to Shiz and watching her sister so happy at her very first party ever. She remembered making things right with Nessa and how good it felt to have someone on her side again, to be reunited with the girl she'd helped raise. And then she remembered her little sister's shrieks and the sight of her blood and she felt so nauseous she had to snatch a paper bag from the nightstand and retched in it until her stomach was completely empty and her body could no longer produce any tears.

On the ninth day after Elphaba had awakened, the eleventh day after she'd been shot, she found what she was looking for.

"I found it," was the first thing she said when Glinda came in to visit her.

The blonde's eyes widened. "You did?"

Elphaba nodded. "I did. It's right here."

"Then why don't you look happy?" Glinda asked cautiously as she sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the spell Elphaba had lying open in the Grimmerie, even though she could not read a bit of it. "Is it something bad?"

"That depends on what you mean by "bad"," said Elphaba, her usual sarcasm shimmering through. "This spell – probably the _only _spell that I could use to help Fiyero – requires for me to kill him. Does that count as "bad"?"

Glinda cursed and Elphaba gave her a wry smile that was not even remotely joyous.

"Yeah," she said. "My sentiments exactly."

* * *

**Did I say no cliffy? *innocent look* Oops. I lied.**


	23. An Exorcism

**AN: I swear, me not updating was not some elaborate evil scheme to make you crack under the pressure of a cliffy or something :P. It was merely my being in Amsterdam all day on Sunday and on a real hype after seeing Willemijn (I mean, I SAW WILLEMIJN. And I talked to her, too. I had my first Willemijn stage door experience. I HAVE A PICTURE WITH HER), and I got completely stressed out yesterday over all kinds of stuff, and then I just... forgot. Sorry.**

**Here it is, though!**

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**23\. An Exorcism**

"Yero."

His heart leapt and he looked up. When he had heard the door to the dungeons open and footsteps heading his way, he had assumed it to be Glinda – particularly since the person approaching was clearly wearing heels – but he hadn't realised that someone else had come with her. He almost burst into tears when he saw her, leaning on her best friend and looking pale and exhausted, but at least she was alive. Thank Oz, she really was alive. He hadn't killed her.

As if she could read his mind, she grinned faintly. "I'm not that easy to get rid of, you know."

He let out a sound that was something between a sob and a laugh and she moved closer to his cell. He reached for her and gripped her elbows through the metal bars, looking her over carefully.

"One shot wound in my abdomen and one in my upper leg," she said. "You need to work on your aim, Yero. You missed any vital organs and arteries."

He didn't say anything and she conceded, "Okay, I get it. Not funny."

"I thought I killed you," he whispered.

She softened. "I know. I'm sorry." She touched his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"You're asking me?"

She shrugged. "You're the one currently trapped inside a cell with an evil woman's spirit trapped inside of _you_."

"And you're the one who got shot," he countered. "I'm fine, though. A little fuzzy and worried sick about you, but fine."

She reached through the bars again to brush some hair away from his forehead. "I'm okay, Yero. Or I will be, anyway. Don't worry about me – I'm tougher than I look."

He cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb, and she turned her head to press a kiss to his palm. "Yero, we found a way to get rid of her."

He held his breath, but released it again when he saw the look in her eyes. "It's bad, isn't it?"

She nodded, not wanting to beat around the bush. "The spell consists of two parts. The second part will make sure Morrible's spirit is sent on to wherever it is spirits go, but the first part... well, it drives Morrible out of your body, but the only way it can do that is by... by killing you."

"Then kill me." He pulled his hand back. "I'd rather be dead than stuck down here, unable to be around anyone and constantly worrying about Morrible taking me over."

"I know." She gazed at him and he could see the conflict in her eyes. "I think I found a way to revive you after driving her out, but... I'm not going to lie – it will be dangerous."

"Do it," he said immediately. "Whatever it is, do it. Fae, I trust you and I know that you will do whatever you think is best. Anything is better than what's going on now. Whatever you need to do, do it."

His grip on her suddenly tightened painfully and she immediately yanked herself free and stepped back – just in time, because his hand shot out, reaching for her throat.

"Too slow, Morrible," said Elphaba, raising her chin even as Glinda moved forward to support her.

Fiyero hissed. "I'll admit that you are a tough nut to crack, Miss Elphaba, but I will get you eventually."

"Or we you," Glinda retorted. "We have a spell that will vanquish you."

Fiyero cackled and Elphaba felt her blonde friend shudder. "It was bad enough when Morrible did that," Glinda muttered, "but this is a thousand times creepier."

Elphaba could only agree.

"I know that spell, dearie," said Fiyero, an evil glint in his eyes, "and I know that you would never cast it. It requires you to kill your precious Fiyero and you would never do that."

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Elphaba. "Do you really think I'd rather leave him alive and locked up down here for fear of you taking over his body and murdering someone? I could never do that to him. I love him, yes. And that is exactly why I _would _kill him. If it was the better option for him, I would. And he just said he wanted me to."

Fiyero snorted. "Oh, please, dearie. You can try to fool yourself, but you can't fool me. I could escape now and kill everyone you have ever cared about and you _still _wouldn't kill me, because you would keep on clinging to the foolish hope that there might be a way to save Fiyero. Wake up, Elphaba. There isn't. He is your weakness – why do you think I picked him?" His gaze swivelled to Glinda. "I could have picked her, of course. That would have worked, too. Fiyero's physical strength is handy, though."

"Oh, stop talking, you old fish!" snapped Glinda, taking a step closer and jabbing her finger into Fiyero's chest. "We will send you back to whatever dark hole you came from, one way or another!"

Fiyero's hand shot out again and got a hold of the front of Glinda's dress. She squeaked and tried to pull herself free, but Fiyero roughly yanked her towards him, slamming her head against the bars. She crumpled to the floor and he laughed.

"Glinda!" Elphaba cried, gingerly crouching to check her friend over. There was already a bruise appearing on her temple, but she was breathing. She seemed to be merely unconscious and Elphaba looked up at Fiyero again, eyes burning.

Then she cast the spell.

She had to. She knew there was no other way and she could not risk Morrible hurting someone else while she was in Fiyero's body. She had to cast the spell and she could only hope that the spell she'd been telling him about before, when Morrible had taken over, would indeed be able to revive him, as she thought it would. She couldn't be sure, but it was a risk she just had to take, no matter how painful that decision was.

Somehow, when she saw his eyes go glassy and watched as he collapsed on the floor, it felt like being shot all over again. Possibly worse.

She had no idea if it had worked, but she cast the second part of the spell without hesitation. It would not do for her to drive the old fish from Fiyero's body, only to have her inhabit Glinda's or someone else's instead, after all.

The words flowed from her lips and she closed her eyes, focusing on her magic and on what she was trying to achieve. An agonised scream filled the dungeons, but she kept her eyes shut. At least she knew that the spell worked – or she was fairly certain, anyway.

She heard a ruffling sound and then a small voice. "Elphie?"

"I'm here, Glin," the young witch whispered, opening her eyes. The spell was done.

Morrible was gone.

Glinda sat up with a groan, bringing her hand to her head. "What happened?"

"Morrible knocked you out." Elphaba sounded monotone, almost detached, and Glinda looked at her more closely.

"Elphie?" She looked around her and then gave a small shriek when she saw Fiyero lying there. "Elphie, what did you do?!"

"I had to!" She forced herself to breathe in and out slowly. "I had to," she said again, softer, but still with an edge of panic to her voice. "She hurt you, Glinda."

"Okay." Glinda looked pale, but she nodded. "Okay, I understand. Now cast the other spell, Elphie. Quickly. Bring him back." She helped Elphaba to her feet and opened the cell, all but pushing the green girl into it. "Cast the spell!"

Elphaba let her hands hover over Fiyero's motionless body, closed her eyes, and started chanting. Glinda watched anxiously as her friend cast the spell, looking for any sign that it might work, but there was none.

Elphaba finished and Glinda pressed her fingers to Fiyero's neck, then brought her ear to his mouth. Finally, she laid her head against his chest, her eyes widening.

"It's not working," she said, her voice panicky. "Elphie, he's not breathing. He doesn't have a heartbeat. Cast it again! Come – I'll cast it with you. The more power, the better, right?"

"Right," Elphaba agreed and they both started chanting again. The panic was evident in Elphaba's voice now and Glinda wrapped an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her, hoping with all her heart that this would work. They finished and Elphaba checked for a pulse and breathing herself this time.

Nothing.

"I killed him," she whispered incredulously, her eyes slowly filling with tears. "Glin, I... I killed him!"

"You had to," Glinda said, swallowing her own tears away. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now she had to be there for her friend. "Elphie, you had no choice."

"I didn't..." Elphaba choked on the words and Glinda could feel her starting to tremble when the truth got through to her. "I didn't even... I couldn't even say good-bye." She hiccupped a sob. "I didn't even tell him I love him!"

Glinda's heart broke for her friend and she wrapped both arms around Elphaba, trying to soothe her. The raven-haired witch cried against her best friend's shoulder and tears stared leaking down Glinda's own face as well as she found herself unable to help it. She didn't think she'd ever seen Elphaba so distraught before. She'd come close, after Nessa's death, but this was possibly even worse and the blonde felt helpless. There was nothing she could do for Elphaba but hold her and try to drag her through this.

The young witch pulled away after a while and without looking at Glinda or Fiyero again, she started making her way out of the cell, seeking support with the cell bars and anything else she came across.

"Elphie?" Glinda asked quietly.

Elphaba shook her head. "I have to go," she managed. "I can't..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Glinda understood what she meant. She wiped her own tears away and leant down to kiss Fiyero's cheek. Then she froze.

"Elphie?"

"Glin, please, just... leave me –"

"_Elphie_. Come here."

"I can't. I'm sorry –"

"He's breathing."

That shut Elphaba up immediately. She made her way back – too fast, because she hissed in pain at the sudden movement of turning around and Glinda suspected she might have ripped a few stitches, but neither cared at the moment.

"What?" asked Elphaba when she was closer, her voice cautious, but her eyes full of hope.

Glinda was smiling now. "He has a pulse, Elphie. He's breathing. Look." She pointed at Fiyero's rising and falling chest and Elphaba dropped down beside them with a low cry, wrapping her arms around him the best she could and laying her cheek against his chest. Her eyes filled with tears all over again when she heard his strong, steady heartbeat beneath her cheek and then she started sobbing once more.

This time, though, she didn't mind the crying so much.

* * *

**I have, of course, seriously considered just ending this with Fiyero being dead and mwahaha bow before my cliffies, but I figured I'd give you a break :P.**


	24. A Team

**AN: The second-to-last chapter!**

**I don't think it will be too hard to guess my own favourite line in this chapter, heheh.**

* * *

**24\. A Team**

She didn't move. Even after Glinda had run up to fetch the doctor and he had to examine Fiyero, Elphaba only shifted enough to allow him to do the necessary examinations, never letting go of the for now still unconscious Vinkun prince. When the doctor carefully suggested he look at her torn stitches, she snapped at him.

"Elphaba!" Glinda reprimanded her. "I know you must feel horrible and it's been a very emotional day... month?" She faltered. "...a very emotional _time_," she finally decided, "but you need to let him look at your stitches and we need to move Fiyero, too. Unless you want to leave him here on the floor in a prison cell," she added sarcastically, at which Elphaba grudgingly moved out of the way. She watched anxiously as Fiyero was taken away and Glinda and the doctor both escorted her back to the infirmary, where the nurse who had cared for her before now tsked at her for having ripped her stitches.

She was forced to stay there. Luckily, they were keeping Fiyero in the infirmary as well or Glinda feared she would have had to chase Elphaba around the castle as she tried to find the prince. As it was, Fiyero's bed was in a room all the way in the back, guarded by two Gale Force soldiers just in case Morrible had not actually been defeated, and they wouldn't let anyone in.

The first time Elphaba tried to sneak in, one of the guards had simply taken her arm and led her back to her bed. The second time, he had grunted to her that she should stop trying, because she was not going to get to see him – it was too dangerous. She argued with him and the other guard for a while before they grew tired of it and simply lifted her off her feet to carry her back to her bed.

The third time, the nurse caught her just as she was making her way through the infirmary and Elphaba was sure the woman would give her a stern look and a lecture and send her back. Instead, however, the nurse merely sighed and walked with Elphaba to Fiyero's room.

"Let her go in if she wants to," the nurse told the two guards. "I'd rather have her let in here than ripping her stitches again in an attempt to get in herself. Just keep an eye on her." She glared at Elphaba. "And you are to be back in your bed in an hour or I _will _sedate you."

From then on, Elphaba was allowed into Fiyero's room for a while a few times a day. She'd carefully lie down beside him and read, talk, or sing to him. Sometimes she'd simply watch him. He never awoke, but the doctors and nurses all assured her that he was doing well and that they expected him to be fine soon – his body just needed time to recover from the shock.

On the third day, he stirred and Elphaba instantly shot up, gasping at the stab of pain she felt at that.

"Miss Elphaba!" the nurse, who had just come in to check Fiyero over, cried. "Stitches!"

"But he's moving!"

"I don't care if he's getting up to dance the Munchkin waltz in his underwear! You are to be careful with your stitches!" The nurse shooed her away and moved closer to Fiyero. She managed to examine him, taking his pulse and listening to his breathing, and continue glaring at Elphaba at the same time. He stirred again and the nurse shone into his eyes with a light.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," she said with a hint of mockery in her tone. "I trust you are well-rested now?"

Fiyero blinked and the nurse stepped away from him. "Do you know who you are?"

"Fiyero Tiggular," he croaked.

"And do you feel the urge to kill anyone around here?" the nurse asked in a practical tone of voice, having been informed of what had been going on with the prince. "Do you feel like there is a presence in your head that shouldn't be there? Do you perhaps hear voices?"

He shook his head, grimacing instantly when that made him feel dizzy. "No," he said, his voice still hoarse. "I think Morrible is gone."

"Good." The nurse nodded once and glanced at Elphaba. "I'll leave you alone, then, but the guards outside of this room _will _come in the moment they hear something suspicious." It was clear that she did not trust Fiyero's own judgement of Morrible being gone. Elphaba didn't, either. He hadn't realised it at first, after all, so there was no telling if he'd be able to sense it now. She was fairly sure that her spells had worked, but she was grateful for the precaution nonetheless.

She approached the bed he was lying on, studying him a little warily. He just lay there, blinking up at the ceiling as he slowly started moving his arms and legs and then turning his head from side to side.

The moment he caught sight of her, he froze. She was a little apprehensive for a moment, but then his gaze met hers and she knew it was him. Not Morrible – just him. That did not mean Morrible was not still able to take him over – only time would tell if she was really gone – but at least it meant she was safe for now.

She smiled bleakly. "You scared the life out of me, did you know that? Although I suppose it was my own fault. I mean, I wasn't really thinking, I just panicked and I didn't..." She trailed off when she realised she was starting to ramble. "Never mind that. How are you feeling?"

He didn't say anything; he just kept looking at her. Finally he asked, "Did you do it?"

She didn't have to ask what he meant, so she just lowered her gaze and nodded.

He reached out, startling her a little when he touched her hand. "I wanted you to," he said. "Don't feel guilty."

Once again, she marvelled at how well he seemed to know her. "I know." She sniffled a little. "But I can't help it. And then I almost didn't succeed in bringing you back, and I thought..." She stopped, unable to continue due to the large lump in her throat. Fiyero tugged at her hand and she allowed him to pull her closer. When he scooted over, she curled up on the mattress next to him, like she had done so many times already since he had first been brought in.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I'm okay. You did it, Fae."

"I thought I'd lost you, too," she whispered, the tears starting to flow now, and he wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face into his shoulder so that he wouldn't see her tears.

They stayed like that for a long while, Fiyero crying, too, a little. "Fae..."

She made a noise in her throat and he swallowed. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "About everything."

"Say that one more time and I'll hex you," she said, pulling away so that she could look at him. She smoothed his hair away from his forehead and leant down to kiss his lips. "None of it was your fault, so stop that."

He smiled, reaching up to touch her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She curled up beside him again and stayed there. When the hour she was usually allowed out of bed passed, she expected the nurse to come and drag her out of here, but she didn't come and Elphaba eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It was soon determined that Fiyero was fine – just exhausted after his near-death experience, which was why he had to rest a lot, but there was nothing physically wrong with him. He wasn't released from the infirmary, though, and Elphaba still wasn't allowed to stay with him all the time. Not until they knew for certain that Morrible was gone.

"But how can we ever know for sure?" Elphaba complained to Glinda as she was once again confined to her own infirmary bed. "We can't know if she's gone until she takes over; and as long as she doesn't, we won't know if she's really gone or just playing a trick on us by laying low for a long while and then striking again."

Glinda smiled. "Don't worry, Elphie. I have an idea."

Not long thereafter, the blonde returned with a spell book, explaining to Elphaba that she had found a spell that would expose Morrible if she was still inside of Fiyero. Both witches made their way over to Fiyero's room. He was asleep and they each stood at one side of his bed, their hands touching above him, as they cast the spell.

Nothing seemed to happen and Glinda looked at her green friend apprehensively. "It didn't work, did it?"

"I think it did." Elphaba wiggled her fingers. "I could feel the magic." She still could – it left her drained and tired, as it always did. She thought it must have worked or the spell wouldn't have made her feel this way. "I can see it, too," she added, indicating the slight green glow around her own fingertips and grinning slightly at the strange, reddish glow that was enveloping Glinda. "The magic definitely worked. I think there is just nothing to see around Fiyero because Morrible is really gone."

Glinda looked hopeful. "Really?"

Elphaba nodded and the blonde smiled widely. "We did it, Elphie. Or, well, you did," she corrected herself, but her friend shook her head.

"_We_ did," she said. "You were right, Glin. We're the best team ever," she said teasingly and Glinda grinned at her.

"We are, aren't we?" She came around the bed to hug Elphaba. "I love you, Elphie."

"I love you, too."

Noticing how tired the raven-haired witch looked, Glinda pulled away. "Why don't you get some sleep?" she suggested with a smile. "I'll go and talk to Oscar about these new developments. He's been visiting you, you know."

Elphaba was startled. "He has?"

"Only when you were asleep," Glinda explained. "He didn't want to intrude, but he wanted to keep an eye on you and see for himself that you were alright. He really does care about you, Elphie."

Elphaba sighed and Glinda added, "He's gone pretty far already in clearing your name, too." She patted Elphaba's shoulder. "I'll tell you all about that later, though. Get some rest, Elphie." She left and Elphaba turned back to Fiyero. She watched his face for a while, reaching out to stroke his cheek. He was still peacefully asleep and he didn't even move when she touched him. She was reluctant to leave him, but at the same time, she knew her friend was right and that she needed to rest.

She knew she wasn't supposed to stay here much longer, but she didn't really care – she just wanted to be close to him. That was why, instead of returning to her own bed, she cuddled up against Fiyero and closed her eyes. If they'd come to drag her out of here, so be it, but the least she could do was try.

After a while, she could hear the nurse come in and she stayed very still, pretending to be asleep already. Footsteps entered the room and then she heard the nurse heave a very deep and exasperated sigh. The footsteps left and Elphaba could hear voices outside of the room. She didn't know what was being said, but no-one came in after that and so she stayed where she was.

She found herself unable to sleep, however. Instead, her mind started wandering. She thought of Nessa, of how she had died and of the way she had been during her life. She thought of Morrible and sincerely hoped that the woman was really gone now, although she still found that hard to believe. So much had happened in such a short time...

She also thought of the Wizard – of her father. It was strange to think of him that way. He didn't feel like a father to her; she suspected he never would. If he really was trying to clear her name now, that would be a step forward in their relationship, but she already knew that they would never become very close. Too much had happened for that.

She rested her chin on Fiyero's chest and studied his face. He looked younger in sleep, more like the boy she had met at Shiz, and she found herself longing for that time – when everything had still been so simple compared to the way it was now. She traced his features with her fingers and could not help but smile. No matter how difficult things had become, she was grateful to have him. She had never thought that she would ever love someone the way she loved him, let alone that someone would ever love her back the way he did.

His eyelids fluttered open and she pulled her hand back, looking guilty. "Sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Mm." He stretched and put his arms around her, drawing her even closer and nuzzling her hair. "I don't mind. Are you okay?"

She nodded against his chest. "I just can't sleep."

"Thinking again, aren't you?" He gave her one of those lopsided grins she loved so much. "I should have realised." He moved his hand to her head and started stroking her hair. "You can stop that, though. You did it, Fae. You solved it, just like you always solve everything. I'm so proud of you." He tangled his fingers in the raven tresses. "And... thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me," he said quietly. "For not giving up on me."

She raised her head for a moment to look at him. "I could never give up on you, Yero," she said solemnly and he kissed the top of her head.

"Well, thank you," he said. "We're safe now, thanks to you." He resumed stroking her hair. "We can move forward."

"I know." She sighed sadly. "It's just that sometimes moving forward is hard... because it means leaving other things behind."

He understood that she was talking about Nessa and he tightened his grip on her. She laid her cheek against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

* * *

**So what was my favourite line? :)**


	25. An Ending

**AN: Here it is, guys - the final chapter. As always, thanks so much for reading! I'll be just posting RNT for a while until I make some more progress with my new fic, _No Way Back_, which is already in the making.**

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**25\. An Ending**

"Do you feel any different?" Glinda asked for the fourth time since first seeing Fiyero, watching the prince critically.

"I never felt any different," Fiyero pointed out wearily. "Otherwise I would have realised before that something was wrong. I didn't. The only things giving Morrible away were those headaches I got in the beginning and her voice talking to me."

"And the fact that Elphie woke up to you trying to murder her," Glinda added helpfully. Fiyero gave her a pained look and she shrugged. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

He stared out of the window. So much had happened during the past months that he felt dizzy even thinking about it.

He still felt horrible about what had happened to Nessa and what he had done to Elphaba. Not only had he murdered her little sister; by shooting her from the sky a few days later, he had also deprived her of the chance to attend Nessa's burial, which had been held while Elphaba had still been unconscious and no-one was sure if she'd be okay. Oscar had recognised an opportunity to try and get into Elphaba's good graces and organised a private memorial service for Nessarose, which the green girl had appreciated. It had given her, Glinda, and Fiyero a chance to say good-bye to Nessa after all. He knew it wouldn't make her grief go away, but at least she could deal with it better.

Sometimes he would wake up to her crying, late at night, and Glinda told him about her own experiences with that. He'd taken her advice to heart and so when that happened, he just held her and let her cry. He knew she was happy that he was there. He also knew she shouldn't be – not when he had been the one to cause her grief in the first place – but she kept telling him that it wasn't his fault.

He had to deal with his own guilt as well, which was proving to be very difficult, but he was trying. He didn't want to burden Elphaba with it, so whenever he felt like talking to someone or crying a few tears of his own, he'd often go to Glinda. The blonde had grown good at comforting both of her friends and somehow this experience, regardless of how horrible it was, had brought the three of them even closer together.

The Wizard, meanwhile, was still working on clearing Elphaba's name, slowly revealing more and more of the truth about the green girl most people knew as the Wicked Witch of the West. Since some people in the Palace had already heard before that things about the Witch were most likely not as they seemed, they found it less difficult to accept these new truths. Oscar blamed Morrible for it all, telling the people she had deceived him with her magic, and the people seemed to buy everything he was saying, which made the work a lot easier. Elphaba was still sceptical regarding the whole thing, but Glinda was sure that the Wizard would eventually succeed in completely clearing her friend's name. She would appear in public for the first time today and Fiyero and Glinda both knew the young witch was probably extremely nervous right now. Oscar had promised her she would be safe; there would plenty of Gale Force soldiers on the square to keep the public in check and Elphaba and the Wizard would be high up on the palace balcony, safe from the crowd, but she had still been anxious about the whole thing.

Fiyero turned around in alarm when he heard Glinda suck in a breath; but then his eyes were drawn to Elphaba and they widened, his mouth slightly agape.

"Oh, Elphie..." Glinda said softly and the green girl fidgeted.

"Is it that bad?"

Fiyero shook his head in amazement. ""Bad" isn't really the word that comes to mind, Elphaba."

She was dressed in a shimmering, silver gown, with delicate beading everywhere and a pair of silver ballerina flats on her feet. Her hair had been brushed until it shone and left loose, tumbling across her shoulders, and a silver head band adorned her head. She genuinely did look like a princess and at the same time, she also looked angelic and innocent – which had doubtlessly been a purposeful move on Oscar's part, given the fact that she was still considered to be a criminal by most of the people. Presenting her as the young girl she really still was would be a way to make the people see that she was not some kind of old hag who went around bewitching people.

"You look so pretty," Glinda told her friend and Fiyero smiled softly.

"Yeah, you do."

She smiled back at him and he moved towards her, drawing her into his arms; but before he could kiss her on the lips, Glinda squealed indignantly behind him. "No kissing! You'll smudge her make-up!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and Fiyero grinned, settling for kissing the top of her head instead. "You, my dear Fae, look absolutely stunning."

She blushed. "Well, thank you, I guess."

"Are you nervous?" asked Glinda.

"Not at all," said Elphaba sarcastically, making the blonde giggle.

"Oh, Elphie, you'll be fine!" She wanted to hug her friend, but caught herself in time and patted her arm instead. "I wouldn't want to mess up your hair or wrinkle your dress," she explained at Elphaba's questioning look, prompting the green girl to roll her eyes once more.

When he came in and saw his daughter, Oscar smiled, tears actually springing to his eyes. "Elphaba..." he said, sounding a little choked up. "You look beautiful."

She didn't say anything, just hugged herself, and he cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

"No," she said, "but I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Fiyero and Glinda promised her they'd be there when she got back and the rest of the day passed in a blur. She was so nervous that she could hardly remember everything that had happened afterwards; all she knew was that the people were wary, but seemed to be accepting her nonetheless, and that Oscar kept on chattering to her excitedly about how well everything went and how great she did and how proud he was of her. She felt terribly out of place, like she was living someone else's life, and she was glad to be able to fall into her bed that night – only to regret it a moment later when pain shot through her abdomen.

Fiyero, who was already in bed and had been watching her, sighed. "When are you going to realise that your wounds have not yet healed and that you need to be careful?"

"You should get used to the fact that I am never careful," she told him as she settled down beside him. He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair and back, allowing her to finally relax a little.

"I wonder what will happen to Munchkinland now," she whispered against his shoulder. "With Nessa gone..."

"You're the rightful heir to the governorship," he pointed out to her, but she shuddered at the mere thought.

"No," she said. "I would never. That was Nessa's future, not mine... and besides, I wouldn't want to rule a flock of people who have been calling for my head for years." She sighed. "Oscar wants me to stay here with him, in the palace, but I don't want to do that, either. I just... don't know what to do. I don't know where to go."

He pressed a kiss to her neck. "How about the Vinkus?"

"What would I be doing in the Vinkus?" she asked, genuinely confused, and he laughed softly.

"Marrying me, for example," he said lightly. "Creating little princes and princesses with me. Becoming the queen of the Vinkus – because let's face it, someone is going to have to keep me in check once I become king. Something like that."

She had frozen completely in his arms and she drew back now to stare at him. "What?"

"Not right away," he said, tightening his grip on her. "But... after a while. If you want to, that is." He looked at her. "Do you?" he asked, obviously trying to keep his voice neutral, but she could hear his underlying anxiety shimmering through. "Want to, I mean?"

Did she? Yes, of course she did. She knew he still felt guilty and he was afraid she blamed him, too; but the truth was that she just didn't. It had been hard for her, in the beginning after Nessa's death, to even look at him; despite knowing that it had been Morrible's doing and not Fiyero's own, she could not help but associate his face with the image of her little sister, shock written all over her face as she collapsed in a bloody heap on the floor. The memory still made her shudder.

After almost losing Fiyero, however, she didn't feel that way anymore. It had been Morrible, not him. He was a victim of that old hag just as much as Nessa was. He wasn't the man who had killed her sister and shot her down from the sky. He was the man who loved her more than anything in the world – or that was what he said, anyway – and the man who would rather die than risk hurting her again. He was the genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow playboy prince who had stolen her heart at Shiz a few years ago and the Captain of the Guard who had spent all this time searching for her because he loved her. She couldn't fault him anything. She could only be grateful that he was still here.

"Fae?" he asked, looking extremely nervous now. "You're quiet. That's not good, is it?"

She chuckled and laid her palms against his chest. "I was just thinking – you know me," she teased. "But yes. Of course I want to."

She could see the doubt in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Am I sure I want to be with you?" She shook her head. "Yero... you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've had a lot of trouble accepting that, but I can admit it now. And after everything that happened... do you really think I want to be away from you a minute longer? Wherever you go, I go. I don't care where we'll be or what we'll be doing, as long as I'll be with you. There," she said, exhaling slowly. "Now that was probably the sappiest thing you'll ever hear me say, so don't get used to it."

He grinned. "I won't." He hugged her closer and kissed her, softly at first, then deeper. "I love you so much, Fae."

"I love you, too." She kissed him back and then snuggled up against him, feeling perfectly content, if only for a moment.

Neither of them noticed that Glinda softly closed the door, smiling a little sadly. She'd walked by when she had heard them talking and she could not help but eavesdrop. She was happy for them. She really was. She saw now that she and Fiyero had never been right for one another and she was confident that one day she would find a man who _would _be right for her. She'd hate to see her friends go, though. Even if they'd write and visit back and forth, it wouldn't be the same as living in the same palace with them.

Soon, however, Elphaba's name would be cleared and Fiyero would most likely take her back to the Vinkus with him, just like he had promised; and Glinda would be here to make sure Oscar kept his word and to help him rule Oz. Elphaba had told her blonde friend that she had faith in her, that she could do this, and Glinda felt honoured at her friend's trust; but she was also nervous. She sighed. There was still a lot to process, for all of them, but they would be okay. She was sure they would be. If Glinda Upland was anything, it was optimistic.

Heaving another sigh, she moved down the hallway, rubbing her temples as she did so. She'd take a nice, hot bath and then go to sleep, and she would be fresh and peachy again in the morning. All that was left for her to do now was help Oscar finish clearing Elphaba's name, trying to restore the Animals to their rightful positions, helping them regain their voices, encouraging the people of Oz, looking into the matter of the new Munchkinland governor, and carrying out her regular duties on top of that as she prepared to co-rule Oz with the Wizard. She should be able to do that, right?

She sighed. She could suddenly feel a nasty headache coming up.

**\- THE END –**


End file.
